Dead & Dying
by losing my reflection
Summary: Yami is a vampire who can't live without blood. Yugi's a cutter who can't seem to live with it. What happens when the two opposites room together in Menoma's Haven? Quite a lot! YYxY JxS BxR MxM etc.
1. Sinking Fangs, Rising Blood

Welcome to my first published fic!  Warnings…uh…well, probably yaoi/shounen-ai, lots of angst, some violence.  Reviewers, I'll make it easy for you!  Tell me if you like the title or not (or suggest a better one), and tell me if the "switching viewpoints" thing is confusing.  Anything else is appreciated ('cept flames, duh).  Oh!  Disclaimer—I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.  TT  Now, start the fic!

**Dead & Dying **

**First **

_He flipped the knife open and slit the youth's throat. Warm liquid seeped out, and he bent to sink his fangs in and drink. For so long he had not had anything to drink, and so he relished each and every drop. He was drowning in bliss, in the red blood that he lapped up. _

_The door was flung open. Light stuck him across the face, and he threw up an arm to protect himself. _

"_Oh my God!" She drew back at the bloody sight. "Yami! You—you killed him!"_

_He was in too much ecstasy to care when the police came and carried him away. _

* * *

_Yugi was alone, mercifully alone. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blade. Tense and wary, he rolled up his sleeve. A spider's web of thin white scars met his eyes. Yugi ran his fingers along his arm, chose a place, and let the razor blade sink deep. Blood flowed down his arm. Stress flowed away. He bent over the sink, careful to keep his clothes away from the bright, shining liquid that ran down the drain. _

"_Yugi?"_

_He tried to cover his arm, to hide the blade, to do anything to keep them from knowing—but he was too late. _

* * *

They had wrapped his arms in bandages so he wouldn't cut them. Yugi looked at his arms, and then looked out the window. Flat fields slipped by, interspersed with groves of trees. He shifted in his seat and slumped against the car door.

Nothing had worked for him. He just couldn't stop. What was so wrong with it anyway? His skin healed; his blood replenished itself. It wasn't so bad.

The car passed a squat stone block which doubled as a sign. _Menoma's Haven_, it read. It might as well have read _Asylum_.

Yugi slumped even further down in his seat, until the tips of his spiked hair weren't visible from the car window.

_

* * *

_

_Yugi's View _

I was shunted from room to room in the Haven. The halls were mostly empty. The floor was tiled with cold-looking, grey-blue stone in some places, carpeted in some soft, green-blue pile in others. Haven was meant to be appealing to look at, I guess. It reeked of the most chic interior decorating possible. I concentrated on the floor in front of me, whatever color, and said as little as possible to the people I met up with. In a large lobby, I was pushed over to Hodashi-san. She had a brown, shoulder-length hair, and a uniform that looked much too small. Her nametag was coming unpinned.

"Mouto Yugi, isn't it?"

"Hai," I muttered. I didn't want to be here. I had no problem; couldn't they _see_ that?

"You'll be sharing a room with Motou Yami. It's this way, if you'll follow me."

Hodashi-san smiled. It made me feel nauseous. She opened a door off the lobby and strode through. The door had a little plaque on it that said, "Boys".

I let the door slam shut behind me. Hodashi-san and I passed by many doors. Posters, bulletin boards, and marker boards had been tacked up on the doors. Some were locked from the outside. That made me feel slightly worried.

Hodashi-san stopped in front of a blank door, aside from a "102" painted in the middle. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of a lock on the outside of the door. Hodashi-san rapped twice on the door, waited three seconds, and then opened it.

* * *

_Yami's View_

Someone knocked loudly twice on the door. I didn't get up to answer it. Why should I, since whoever it was would come in anyway?

It was Hodashi-san. A burst of annoyance crossed my mind, but I didn't let it show on my face. Impassive, I was lying on the lower bed of the bunk, feet propped up on the bar at the end. This let me see the door. The window looked unguarded, but shadows only visible to me circled it menacingly. I had been plotting, letting my mind slip into another realm, but at the rude interruption I'd let this reality reclaim its hold on me.

Hodashi-san looked uncomfortably in. "Motou-kun? This is Mouto Yugi," she said. She looked at me, and then at Yugi. The resemblance, I had to admit, was scary. Yugi was wearing a backpack, a loose black sleeveless top, a long-sleeved jacket over it, and jeans. He looked apathetic when he came into the room, until he saw me.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

I let my eyes slide over what was to be my home for the next three months. Two bunk beds, two desks, two closets, what I presumed to be the bathroom door, and an ordinary window that somehow gave me a creepy feeling—these filled the nondescript room. My roommate hadn't decorated at all.

I stepped more into the room, and my eyes tried to glance over Yami like he wasn't there. But he was very much there, like a stronger, taller version of me. His eyes were bright crimson, and they were looking straight at me. Did I mention that he wasn't wearing a shirt? My eyes stuck on him. This was going to be one of the hardest three months ever. A traitorous part of my mind remarked that the "scenery" would be good, and I told it to shut up. Yami was off-limits.

Gratefully, my staring was interrupted by Hodashi-san. "Mouto-kun, someone will bring you your things tomorrow. I suppose you have everything you need for tonight in your backpack?"

"Hai."

"Alright then. I'll leave you two boys to get acquainted."

And Hodashi-san closed the door. It felt very much like a dungeon door slamming shut.

* * *

_Yami's View_

Yugi slid his backpack off and dumped it by his bed. I followed his moves carefully. When his backpack strap caught on his jacket sleeve, it revealed a white bandage for a moment.

"So...you're a cutter?"

Yugi sat down on the lower bunk across from me and nodded, pulling up one sleeve to show his bandaged arm again. "What are you in here for?"

So what should I tell him? The truth—that I'd killed someone to survive? Or a lie that probably wouldn't hold up for more than a day?

But the answer didn't matter. Yugi wouldn't be around much longer.

"I killed someone."

I half-expected shock, or perhaps for him to draw back in horror. Yugi just glanced at me, with slightly dead-looking eyes. "Really?"

"Mmhmm."

Yugi bent down to his backpack and rummaged in it. He started taking stuff out—a beat-up mp3 player, some clothes, a zippered bag with a toothbrush sticking out one end, several books, and a leather case. Two of the books and the case reeked of his aura, as though they were very important to him.

I watched Yugi's every move as he walked into the bathroom, stashed his bag in a drawer, tossed his clothes into his closet, lined up his books on top of the desk, and yanked the covers back on the bed. He sat down and fidgeted with his bandages. Abruptly, Yugi got up again and went from one end of the room to the other, looking around carefully. Yugi went in the bathroom for a second, and then came back out.

"I hate to ask, but do you have anything sharp?"

"No, sorry." Why did I say no? Was I protecting the kid from himself? I had at least seven lethal weapons, three of which were knives.

Yugi sat down. "Never mind." He folded his hands and fidgeted with them some more.

"How long?" I asked.

"Three months, more or less. They think I'm nearly hopeless." I could hear the silent insults at _them_. I'd been guilty of saying them often enough. "Kami-sama, I need a blade," he griped.  "Well, you?"

"They haven't given me a release date."

Yugi smiled wryly and pulled off his shoes and socks. He stole the pillow from the top bunk and grabbed one of his books—one of the ones that had collected much of his aura. Yugi grabbed a pen and his mp3 player.

"D'you mind?"

"Go ahead."

Yugi slipped his headphones on and hit _play_. I let my eyes slide out of focus. Shadows were summoned. I sent them to crowd around the door and circle Yugi.

Threats gone, I let my mind slip into oblivion. Vampires don't need sleep.  But they do need blood, and that I would get very soon.  Yugi bent his head down to his book, unaware of the death that waited in this very room. 

* * *

Next chapter update:  mid-week-ish

Click that button and review!


	2. Sliding Down and Away

Woo! Chapter 2! First of all, I want to thank all the wonderful people who clicked that button and reviewed! For a first time writer, it was a very much appreciated warm welcome!

ladywolf(Terri: Yep, it's dark. The story sort of came together in my mind during a week of my life that was pretty hard, so maybe that's why….

Eve-Of-Misery: Here's the update you asked for! Nice to know somebody is waiting for it .

SoulDreamer and tiger witch: Thanx for the enthusiasm! And tiger witch, I will answer your question soon!

A little reminder from the last chappie, and then on with the fic! By the way, Kami-sama is God in Japanese. Still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and probably never will…TT.

Last time…

_Yugi slipped his headphones on and hit play. I let my eyes slide out of focus. Shadows were summoned. I sent them to crowd around the door and circle Yugi. _

_Threats gone, I let my mind slip into oblivion. Vampires don't need sleep. But they do need blood, and that I would get very soon. Yugi bent his head down to his book, unaware of the death that waited in this very room. _

**Dead & Dying **

**Second **

_Yami's View _

My new roommate's pen scratched across the papers in his book. I assumed it to be his journal. After about ten minutes, he poked the _stop_ button on his mp3 player and took off his headphones. Yugi shook out his spiky hair and got up. Taking his pajamas in hand, he went into the bathroom to change.

I returned to reality somewhat stiff. I had barely moved for about four hours. While this conserved energy, and the precious little blood I had left, it must have been slightly weird for Yugi—if he'd noticed. He seemed so apathetic.

Yugi returned, having donned a white T-shirt that was much too big for him and a pair of stretchy blue shorts. "Mind if I turn out the lights?"

"Nope. Good night."

"G'night, Yami-kun." Yugi slipped under the covers of his bunk.

The moon slid across the sky. It was an hour before Yugi's breathing slowed to the shallow, regular rhythm that indicated deep sleep.

I sat up, moonlight reflecting off my crimson eyes. The tiled floor was cold, though not any colder than myself.

Silently, I crossed the room. Yugi was lying on his side, facing the room. His lips were parted slightly, drawing in the breath of life that I lacked. His figure was curled, knees drawn up and arms folded close.

Yugi's journal had been tucked into his backpack, but I pulled it out and opened to the first page.

_Today: 2 _

_ Two. I was stressed. Too much. I broke. I needed to do it. And now I'm bleeding a lot—got to go clean it up—. _

There was a red smudge on the paper, which I sniffed at. I skipped forward to the last entry, the one for today.

_Today: 0 _

_ None! They won't let me even have a razor! Kami-sama, I need a blade! I need it even more because I was taken to Menoma's Haven. So far, I hate this place. I hate what I've seen of it anyway. The people make me sick. _

_ I have a roommate here. His name is Motou Yami. When I first walked into our room, he wasn't wearing a shirt. Kami-sama, am I going to have problems! For three months, stuck in the same room with him? How can I hope to keep it a secret?_

I skipped down again. The entry ended with about twenty lines of the sentence "Yami is off-limits". I smirked, replaced his journal, and turned to face my victim.

Yugi's pale skin looked even paler in the silver moonlight. His neck was exposed. I bent down over it and reached out a hand. My fangs lengthened as I touched the warm skin, feeling the pulse that beat against it. I was thirsty, so thirsty—

_G'night, Yami-kun. _

I drew back. No matter how thirsty I was, I couldn't sink my fangs into Yugi's neck. Slightly disgusted with myself, I stood up.

I didn't want to admit it. I spun around, angry. Yugi was cute. I had to admit it.

I strode over to my closet and yanked a jacket out. I swept a hand under my pillow, catching the knife hidden there. Then, I went to the window and opened it; the shadows I had put there curled around my wrists and ankles.

The grounds of Menoma's Haven were bathed in silver light. I crouched on the windowsill, tensed, and jumped to the nearest tree branch. Dropping to the ground silently, I scanned the area.

My fangs were still blatantly obvious; my thirst even more so. I drew back into the shadows and sniffed. Some other hapless mortal would die tonight. I caught the scent of blood from an open window, further along the dormitory building. Seizing upon it, I stalked through the shadows until I could see the open window that let the tantalizing scent outside. I smiled.

_What poor soul left their window open tonight?_

* * *

_Yugi's View_

I woke to find Yami-kun gone. Sitting up, I rubbed my neck. The bandages around my arms were still there, and I picked at them. My need for a cut was overwhelming.

I tried to put it past me as I got up. The cold floor helped. Hopping from foot to foot, I grabbed my backpack and dashed into the bathroom.

I changed into dark jeans and a black button-down shirt. My hair looked normal, for me, anyway. I brushed my teeth and rinsed, and when I turned off the faucet, I heard the click of a window going shut.

When I came out of the bathroom, Yami was there. His piercing crimson eyes shot me a glance, and then returned to looking at the clothes in his closet. "Good morning, Yugi-kun."

"Morning. Sleep well?"

"Yes, I suppose." Yami pulled on a red jacket over his black shirt.

"Going down to breakfast?"

Yami nodded. "Come on. I'll show you where the cafeteria is."

In stocking feet, we padded outside. Other boys were waking and making their sleepy way down to the cafeteria. Yami strode away from the lobby (where I'd come from yesterday), and pushed open a heavy-looking door at the end of the hall. He went down a set of stairs and turned left.

Rows of tables were set up in a wide, spacious area. "C'mon," said Yami, tugging at my sleeve. I followed him into the breakfast line, a buffet-style one. Yami grabbed a plate and piled it with pancakes and eggs. I took a little bit of everything—sausage, bacon, pancake, eggs, hash browns.

"Yami-kun!" A boy with curly black hair waved us over to his table. Sitting next to him was another boy with very red hair.

"Morning, Auru-kun, Rino-kun," said Yami. Rino nodded and sipped his milk. "This is Mouto Yugi-kun." I bowed slightly, and said hello.

"Nice to meet you, Yugi-kun," said Rino.

"Same." Auru stabbed the last bit of his sausage with a fork and ate it.

Yami and I sat down across from them and began to eat. Auru eyed Yami's full plate suspiciously. "Did you…drink last night?"

Yami nodded, crimson eyes very serious.

"All the way?" Auru looked at Yami very carefully.

"Yes. I was thirsty."

Rino saw my slightly confused expression. "Don't mind them. Tell me, what are you stuck here for?"

I motioned to my arms. "Cutting. You?"

"Dysfunctional perception of reality. It means I'd rather live inside my head, most of the time."

I nodded. Rino took a drink and motioned to the black-haired youth sitting next to him. "Auru…well, I guess you could say that his emotions are extreme. When he's angry, he's enraged; when he's sad, its intense depression."

"And when I love someone…" Auru broke into our conversation and pulled Rino close. He whispered something in Rino's ear. Rino blushed.

"They're together," said Yami dryly. "In case it wasn't obvious."

I gave a half-laugh. Rino ate another bite of pancake, cheeks still flaming red. The rest of breakfast was uneventful.

* * *

_Yami's View_

As we walked out of the cafeteria, medicine was passed out. I put the pill in my mouth and drank the glass of water that came with it, tucking the pill away in the side of my mouth so it wouldn't be swallowed.

Once back in my room, I threw the pill away and washed out my mouth. The taste was hideous. I was definitely not going to ruin the fresh blood that rushed through my veins with some foul pill.

Yugi had been delayed, as he was new to Haven. He returned to our room, pills and glass of water in hand.

"Don't take them," I said warningly.

"I wasn't going to," said Yugi. He went into the bathroom. I heard the flush that indicated that he'd tossed them down the toilet.

I waited five minutes for Yugi to come out. He didn't. I knocked on the door.

No response.

I regret to say that I, the calmest, coolest, most in control vampire, panicked. I shoved open the door and burst into the room.

The unmistakable smell of blood, lots of it, hit me. It disoriented me for a moment, as the wet, warm smell was nearly overpowering. Yugi was bending over the sink with a knife. He'd gotten his bandages undone, and had sliced his left arm. His eyes snapped open at the sound. "Yami-kun!"

"Yugi! What the hell?" I leapt at him, aiming to grab the knife, but he sidestepped.

"No!" Yugi backed away, towards the bathroom door, but I quickly blocked that route. "Yami, please, let me keep it!" He gripped the knife tightly.

"No!" I rushed at him, and a struggle ensued. I got his wrist and then—

Yugi gasped. I looked at my hand. There was a knife through it.

"Oh, Kami-sama! I'm—."

"Doesn't matter," I snapped. I yanked the knife out.

"Y—Yami-kun?" Yugi was staring at my hand. It was not bleeding.

"No. I don't bleed." I gestured to the mirror. "I don't have a reflection, either," I said tersely. Only Yugi was reflected in the mirror.

Yugi drew in a shocked breath. I let my fangs lengthen over my lower lip. "Yes. I am a vampire."

I waited to see what Yugi would make of it. He looked at me incredulously for a moment, and then dropped his eyes to the floor. After almost a minute of silence, Yugi took a deep breath.

"If you're a vampire, prove it."

"What?" I froze. This wasn't anything like I'd expected.

Yugi undid the buttons on his shirt. "Prove it." He took his arm out of his sleeve and motioned to his neck. Yugi had a challenge written in his eyes that had not been there before. The smell of his blood was overwhelming and intoxicating. To sink my fangs deep into his skin, deeper—oh, Kami-sama.

"Go on. Bite."

* * *

Next chapter update: over the weekend-ish

Click the button and review!


	3. A Bit of My Life for Yours

I just watched the episode where Yugi and Yami are ripped apart by the seal of Orichalkos (sp?). I'm going to try and write this, but if it comes out as something not even worth reading, I will rewrite and repost it. Anyway, again, thanks so much to the people who reviewed! I've had a lot of question asked about the story, which I will try and answer as the story goes on. Several questions will be answered in the next chappie.

The AutumnRose: Thanks for putting me in your faves ! Yami does make a cool vamp.

SoulDreamer and Gruzzee: I definitely will keep writing—the story is actually fun to write.

kameeko: Lol! Is Kamoray your muse? And yeah, the story makes me kind of jumpy too.

Deranged Kai: Working on the update! Sorry about the cliffy --u.

Al the Great: Thanks for putting me in your faves! My original characters, Rino and Auru—I put them in the story on the spur of the moment. I like writing for them, though, so I will put more of them in.

Eve-Of-Misery: Yes, Yami is. Rino and Auru are original characters…haven't really decided if Auru is a vamp yet or not. Thanks!

Samurai-Angel: Thanks! Sure, I'll read yours, if you keep reading mine lol!

tiger witch: Your reviews are so enthusiastic lol! I haven't decided if Auru is a vamp yet, but he does know that Yami is one.

ladywolf(Terri: Yes it is definitely good that Yami just fed. I don't know if I could actually write a good character death…especially Yugi's. Yugi is too—too—well, he can't die.

Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, but I do own Auru and Rino, and the plot, I guess. Slight shounen-ai in this chapter, and more in the next. Anyway, reminder from the last chappie, and then on with the fic!

Last time…

_Yugi undid the buttons on his shirt. "Prove it." He took his arm out of his sleeve and motioned to his neck. Yugi had a challenge written in his eyes that had not been there before. The smell of his blood was overwhelming and intoxicating. To sink my fangs deep into his skin, deeper—oh, Kami-sama. _

_"Go on. Bite."_

**Dead & Dying**

**Third**

_Yami's View_

_Bite him?_ Frozen with indecision, my thoughts seemed to spin out of control. Yugi was already bleeding, and the air was thick with the scent of his blood. But I wasn't thirsty! I had fed already—blood ran through my veins, plenty of it. I had promised myself that I would only drink to survive.

_But he asked for it._

Asked for it?

_Yes. Go on. Sink your fangs into his neck._

I took a step towards Yugi. His amethyst eyes bored into mine. He didn't flinch at all.

_Sink your fangs in—drink of his life—_

I slid one hand around his back, pulling him close. Yugi did not resist. I put my other hand at the nape of his neck, threading my fingers through his hair. His pulse beat steady under my fingers, heart quickening. I could feel my fangs lengthening and I bent down. Yugi tensed in my arms and I opened my mouth—

Yugi stifled a cry. I made to release my fangs, but he wrapped his arms around my waist and would not let go.

"No—don't stop—please—"

I closed my eyes and sunk my fangs further in, slowly, until his blood welled up around them. It was like the first drink of water after being lost in the desert. Yugi pressed against me and let out a breath I didn't know he'd been holding. I was barely aware of his fingers clenching the back of my jacket. "Yami—nnh—"

_Knock knock_.

We sprang apart as if burned. Yugi frantically tugged his arm back in his sleeve and pulled his collar back up. I could feel my fangs still dripping, and I bent over the sink. My head was spinning—I wasn't used to this much life coursing through my body—

"Stay here," Yugi said, a tremor of fear in his voice. He went outside.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

It was hundreds of times better than my deepest cut. I stumbled out of the bathroom in a fog of ecstasy, heading towards the door. I thank Kami-sama that I had the sense to turn my collar up.

I opened the door. A very tall, burly man was standing on the threshold. "Is this Mouto Yugi's room?"

"Yes. That's me," I replied. A trunk and two duffel bags clustered behind him.

"Then these are yours," he said. He had a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Uh…thanks." He hefted the trunk and walked into the room. A bit of fear shot through me—

The bathroom door snapped shut from the inside. I relaxed. The man brought in the two duffels and set them next to the trunk. He also handed me a fat envelope with the Haven's logo.

"Well, that'll be all."

"Yes, thank you." The man looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time.

"You're…uh…bleeding, kid."

"What?" I flinched.

"Right here." He motioned to his neck.

"Oh! That!" I slapped a hand over my neck. "Uh—I cut myself—shaving. I'll go put another bandage on it," I said quickly. Too quickly. For all the times I'd lied about cutting myself, I sure hadn't gotten any better at it.

"Alright then…. You have a good day."

"You too." The man walked out and I shut the door behind him. I slumped against it for a moment. That was much too close for comfort.

Then I snapped back. Yami! I pulled myself up and opened the bathroom door.

"Yami-kun?"

He had slumped against the cabinet. "Yami-kun! Are you alright?"

"Yes…I'm fine…just not used to so much…life." Yami blinked his eyes open. They had lost much of their crimson fire. "Did I hurt you?"

"No!" I said hurriedly. "I'm just fine." What an understatement. I felt a bubble of bliss in my chest that refused to pop.

Yami leaned his head back against the cabinet. His fangs were shrinking back into his mouth. Yami's tongue flicked out and caught the last drops of my blood. He brought his sleeve up to his face and rubbed at his chin.

"It's all gone," I said. "No blood." Yami's eyes closed again. Now I was beginning to second-guess myself. Was Yami really alright?

Yami reached for the counter and pushed himself up. "Clean yourself up, Yugi-kun. I'm going to lie down." He stumbled out of the room. I made to follow him, but he blocked me with his arm. "Wash up first."

I took off my shirt and looked in the mirror. It was a little difficult to see the side of my neck, but I managed it. There were two spots where blood was welling up. I grabbed a wad of tissue and attempted to stop the bleeding.

I taped a piece of gauze in place on my neck, since the bleeding did not want to stop. Next, my arm needed attention. It had started to scab already, so I just put a piece of gauze over that, too. I rewound the white bandage that _they_ had put around my arm and looked at my neck again.

Still bleeding. A wave of nervousness hit me.

"Yugi-kun!"

I hurried out of the bathroom. Yami had flopped onto his bunk. "Come over here," he said.

I went to his side and he motioned for me to bend down. "Take that off," he said, meaning the gauze taped over my neck.

I picked at the end of the tape until it came off, and Yami reached out a hand to my neck.

Something cold brushed my neck, though I know Yami didn't touch me, and I saw something purple-black out of the corner of my eye.

"There," said Yami. He rolled over, away from me, and to all appearances, fell asleep.

I touched my neck. I couldn't feel anything. I went into the bathroom and leaned towards the mirror, twisting so I could see the side of my neck.

There was nothing there.

* * *

Sorry about this being late! started upgrading just as I tried to post this. :O !!! But since you had to wait, I will put up two chapters, not just one!

Next update (chapter five): next week permitting…--u)

Review !


	4. Oblivion, Concern, and a Little Play

I have a very bad cold and am running a bit of a fever, so I've basically taken over the computer for the day. Anyway, here's the next chapter of **Dead & Dying**. Since FFN is being a pain, I will reply to the super awesome people () who reviewed chapter three and this chapter in the next update.

"speech"

_thoughts_

/shadows talking/

Rino, Auru, and the plot are mine. Yu-Gi-Oh, unfortunately, is not. The shouenen-ai/yaoi warning is still in effect. A little reminder from the last chapter, and then on with the fic.

Last time…

_"There," said Yami. He rolled over, away from me, and to all appearances, fell asleep. _

_I touched my neck. I couldn't feel anything. I went into the bathroom and leaned towards the mirror, twisting so I could see the side of my neck. _

_There was nothing there. _

**Dead & Dying**

**Fourth**

_Yami's View_

I let myself slip into oblivion. Kami-sama, why did I have to bite him? I wasn't even thirsty.

_But his blood was the best you've ever tasted. _

I couldn't deny it.

_And you want more_.

But I was full. I couldn't have drunk any more even if I'd wanted to.

_Still doesn't change the fact that you can't wait to sink your fangs into him again._

I tried to stop arguing with myself. My body felt unbearably hot. It was rebelling against the excess of warm life that I'd drunk.

And even now, I was very, very aware of how Yugi had _fit_ in my arms.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

In the past, after I cut myself, a peaceful calm had settled over my mind. It usually didn't last more than a couple hours, though. This, though, this feeling that Yami had given me, was different. The normally choppy lake of my life was now as smooth as glass. I was not even worried that Yami had somehow taken my only knife, and that I might not get to cut myself for days.

I knelt down next to my trunk and snapped open the clasps that held it closed. I snuck a glance at Yami out of the corner of my eyes. He was fast asleep or, at least, doing a very good job of looking like it.

A twinge of some emotion made me bite my lip. Was it regret? Concern?

Were vampires really immortal? Or was Yami dying?

Yami rolled over. I breathed a tiny sigh of relief and pushed open the lid of my trunk.

I wasn't stupid enough to have packed a knife or a razor blade, or even scissors. The first thing that met my eyes when I opened the trunk was a white piece of paper with "NOTICE OF SEARCH" emblazoned in red across the top. So they'd searched my trunk and duffels. I crumpled up the paper and tossed it towards the basket in the corner. I missed.

I got up, annoyed, and put the wad of paper in the basket where it belonged. The next hour was spent unpacking my things and organizing them.

Yami still showed no signs of life. I bit my lip again. Should I go get someone?

_Yeah, my roommate just drank my blood, and now he looks like he's passed out._

_That_ would go over _real_ well.

Wait! Auru knew that Yami was vampire—he'd said something about "feeding last night" during breakfast!

But just as quickly, that idea died. There were at least fifty rooms in the boys' dormitory alone.

_So? Someone has to know which room belongs to Auru._

I put my hand on the doorknob, and instantly withdrew it. Purple-black shadows were curling around my hand, responding to the warmth.

/Yami?/

_Uh…no…._

/Yugi!/ A strange feeling of being recognized and inspected welled up from the shadows entwined through my fingers. /Auru?/ The shadows seemed to sense my thoughts, and the ones wrapped around my hand drew me back to the door.

/one zero five room/ The shadows gave me a confused impression of a door, along with the instinctive feeling that it was to my right.

I opened the door quickly and shook the shadows off my hand. Their freezing cold touch—I remembered something like it—

_When Yami healed your neck_.

The shadows are Yami's?

_I suppose._

I stepped out into the hall, thankfully finding it deserted. I shut the door to my room behind me and turned to my right.

Room 105 was on the other side of the hall, just two doors down. I nearly went back to my room upon reaching out to the door handle, because more shadows, different this time, sensed my warmth and reached out.

/Auru? Rino?/ They asked a wordless question, pulling me back towards the door.

_Auru_, I answered. _I'm looking for Auru. _

The shadows slithered away from my hand and under the crack in the door. They returned a moment later. /Inside, inside./ They pulled my hand to the door handle again.

I twisted the doorknob, pushed the door open, and looked inside.

Auru had his arms wrapped around Rino, who was sitting in his lap. They were locked at the lips, Rino's fingers tangled in Auru's hair.

I blushed very red and made to close the door.

"Yami-kun?" Auru broke off the kiss and looked towards the door.

"No—it's Yugi," I stammered.

"Oh, Yugi-kun!" Rino and Auru disentangled themselves.

"Sorry about that," said Auru. "The shadows won't let anyone else but Yami open the door. And he usually doesn't leave his room during the day."

"Oh," I managed to squeak out.

"What's the matter?" Rino asked.

I tried to block the rather embarrassing picture of Auru and Rino out of my mind and force it to concentrate on the reason why I came in the first place. "Yami-kun is—well—he bit me." Auru became very serious all of sudden. "I asked him to," I said quickly. Auru's and Rino's eyes widened. "And now—he hasn't moved at all in an hour. He looks like he's—."

"Dead?" Auru filled in.

I nodded.

Rino looked at Auru, his glance asking a question.

"Baka," Auru muttered. "Yami-kun drank too much. How that ever happened, I'm not sure I want to know. Usually, vampires go for weeks without feeding twice."

"Is he going to be alright?" Concern threaded through my voice.

"He'll be fine," said Rino soothingly. "Just give him another hour and he'll wake up."

Now my concern seemed silly. My face, if that was even possible, got redder. "Sorry to bother you."

"Not a problem," said Auru. "Actually, it was better that you came. Since Yami-kun bit you at your request, he can't kill you now, or make you a vampire."

"What?"

Rino elaborated. "You asked Yami-kun to bite you, correct?" I nodded. I had, sort of. "You willingly gave up part of your life to support his. Usually, vampires have to steal life from others. Since you gave it, Yami-kun is bound by the shadows' law not to kill you. It would be physically impossible for him."

"Oh." That made sense, in a twisted, illogical kind of way.

"He can drink from you until the brink of death, though," put in Auru. "Don't provoke him."

"I won't," I promised. Provoking Yami was about the last thing I was going to do.

_His arms around you—_

_His fangs inside you—_

_Oh, Kami-sama…_

Rino smiled at me and broke me out of my destructive train of thought. "Anything else?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Okay," said Auru. His eyes slid over to Rino and he grinned mischeivously. "Rino and I might not be at lunch or dinner, but don't worry."

"Alright," I said. I stepped outside and pushed on the door. It was partially shut when I heard Rino moan.

Auru's voice was low and demanding. "Shirt. Off. Now."

I shut the door very quickly. Apparently, my interruption was already forgotten.

* * *

Next update: next week, as I'm going away for Thanksgiving break TT

REVIEWERS:I'm taking suggestions for plot direction, since I'm running a bit low on ideas.Just mentioning character names, random suggestions,or what"scenes" you liked will help. Thanks so much for your dedication to the story!

Click the button & Review!


	5. You Looked Into My Soul

When I got back from my trip over Thanksgiving, my inbox was FLOODED with reviews! You reviewers are so AWESOME!!! faints of happiness Now I feel bad about making you guys wait so long for the update --u…I spent much too much time away from my computer…not as if I had a choice…sigh. Anyway! Thanks so much for the people who responded to my query in the last chappie!!! It doesn't take much to set my imagination off, and now I have so many ideas now that I can't wait to write!

HAPPY (very belated) THANKSGIVING!!! I am so thankful for my reviewers!!!

THE AMUSING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Rino belongs to Auru, but their characters are mine, along with the rampaging plot bunnies responsible for this fic. If you see these plot bunnies, please whack them over the head with a heavy frying pan and send them back to me for...um…undisclosed reasons. Yeah.

Okay enough of me running off at the mouth! A reminder from last chappie and then,drum roll, the fic!

Last time…

_I stepped outside and pushed on the door. It was partially shut when I heard Rino moan. _

_Auru's voice was low and demanding. "Shirt. Off. Now." _

_I shut the door very quickly. Apparently, my interruption was already forgotten. _

**Dead & Dying**

**Fifth**

_Yami's View_

The landscape was as flat as a mirror and blacker than the night. This was my oblivion. The "ground" spread infinitely in all directions; the "sky" rose into endless blackness and disappeared.

The shadows curled themselves around my shoulders, twined around my wrists and ankles, and brushed my face and hands. They were happy to see me again.

I made to sit down, and the shadows whirled their way into a chair. A while ago, I had felt Yugi's presence leave the room. Now, he had returned. One of my shadows guarding the door twitched into existence.

/Yugi's back./

"Tell me where he's been."

/Rino and Auru's room./

_Oh, no._ I coughed. "Uh…were Rino-kun and Auru-kun making…?" Really, there wasn't a way to say anything more than that in a non-embarrassing manner.

/…Almost./

"And Auru's shadows let Yugi open the door? Kami-sama! Auru needs to keep his shadows under control."

/Why? He no longer needs us—to find prey or for company. He has Rino./ A bit of sadness ran through the shadow's "voice". I held out my hand and let the purple-black patch twine around it.

"Is Yugi-kun alright?"

/He's only slightly traumatized./

"Tell Auru and his shadows to clean up their act in front of Yugi. Kami-sama…." I rubbed my face. "What did they tell him? Or were they…too…involved in each other?"

/No. They stopped. Yugi was afraid you wouldn't wake up./ I felt a strange warmth in my chest at this. I let the shadow wrap itself around my fingers, and it kept "talking". /He remembered Auru had said something at breakfast and thought he knew you were a vampire. So Yugi went to ask Auru./

I crossed my legs. My "chair" became more comfortable, shifting under me. "What did Auru tell him?"

/That you'd wake up in about an hour…and also, that you can't kill him or turn him into a vampire now./

That saved me the trouble of telling him. I had briefly wondered how I'd bring that up. _Yeah…since I bit you at your request, I can't kill you now_.

Not very smooth. I absentmindedly ran my hand over the shadow that was currently inspecting my sleeve. "Did Auru-kun tell Yugi-kun that other vampires can still kill him, or turn him?"

/No. Auru didn't tell him that he was a vampire either./

"Well, Auru will never bite Yugi-kun, as long as Rino is around."

/Nope. It's quite strange, how Auru and Rino coexist./

"Yeah…but let's not go into the details of their…arrangement."

/No?/ The shadow around my fingers poked at the button on the sleeve of my jacket. /You should know the details./

"For blood's sake, why?" What Rino and Auru did behind closed doors was none of my business. And not something I wanted to think about.

/I think you might want a similar arrangement with Yugi./

One of the bad things about being full of stolen blood is that one can blush. A red flush rose to my cheeks now.

"You go back to guarding the door," I said firmly. "And tell Auru's shadows what I said."

/Whatever you say./ I got the distinct impression that the shadow was smiling knowingly at me as it slithered off.

That was stupid. _Shadows don't know anything about love. _

_Do they?

* * *

_

_Yugi's View_

One hour. I sat on my bed. The clock on Yami's desk moved as slowly as a Monday morning.

Slightly irritated and still a tad worried, I reached for the fat brown envelope bearing the Haven's logo. I dumped the contents out on my bed. Pamphlets, a calendar, what looked like a schedule, some legal forms, a bunch of other crap—I wadded it up back into the envelope and tossed it on my desk. I'd read it later.

I looked at the clock again. One minute had passed. Ugh. If my three months at Haven were going to crawl like this, I would certainly find a way to get out long before then.

I looked at my backpack, still propped up against the bedpost. It had been there since I first walked in. Thinking vaguely about writing in my diary, I got up and looked in the front pocket for it.

It wasn't there.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled. I jammed a hand into the back pocket of my backpack. My diary had been tossed haphazardly inside it.

I know I didn't do that. Someone else must have….

_Oh, Kami-sama…no…._

I flipped my diary open. My hopes, my dreams, my reality, my secret thoughts—everything was written down in here.

_Yami must know…everything. Even…how I feel about him. _

My face burned with shame. In all my daydreams and random fantasies, that was never how Yami found out.

I closed my diary and let it fall back into my backpack. Pushing back the covers on my bunk, I curled up into a little ball. I pulled the covers over my head and my knees to my chest.

_Yami must hate me_.

* * *

_Yami's View_

I stepped out of oblivion and into reality. My body still felt uncomfortably warm, but I was not assaulted with the burning heat I had gone to sleep with.

Shrugging off my shirt, I sat up. A lump under the covers of the bunk opposite met my eyes. Yugi must be curled up under there.

Thoughts of cuteness attacked the edge of my mind. I half-heartedly pushed them away.

My feet slid over the side of the bed and onto the cold floor. I wasn't very hungry, and Yugi didn't look as if he was going to lunch. Skipping lunch wasn't that big a deal.

I noticed that Yugi had opened the envelope from Haven. Listening for Yugi's breath, I found it was slow and even. He was asleep.

I slid the various papers out of the envelope and looked at his schedule. At one, he was supposed to go down to the office wing for "diagnostics". I looked at the clock: 2:07. I smirked. Yugi was a good little skipper. I sure as hell didn't go to any of this crap they scheduled for you.

Going over to the window, I sniffed at the breeze that floated in. Grave dirt. The wind must be from the east, where I buried most of my victims.

I pulled a jacket on and crouched on the windowsill. Something was wrong with the scent—too much flesh in it.

I leapt out the window and slunk into the shadows of the nearby forest. Someone or something was digging up a body.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

Yami leapt out the window and was gone. I poked my head out from under the sheets. I was sure my eyes were red from crying. Putting bare feet to a cold floor, I stumbled into the bathroom.

The faucet spewed cold water into my hands, and I splashed it on my face. I yanked the hand towel off the hangar and rubbed my face dry.

Tossing the towel back over the hangar, I twisted to look at the side of my neck in the mirror. The fang marks from Yami were still gone. I stepped back from the mirror.

At first, I thought it was me. My neck was fine, but it looked faded. I rubbed my eyes. The bathroom light was on, and I'd had twenty-twenty vision for years.

So why was my reflection fading away?

* * *

_Yami's View_

It turned out that no one was digging up the body I'd buried. I hadn't buried this one as deep, and if you looked closely, you could see fingers sticking out of the ground. Annoyed at myself for being so careless, I conjured a shovel and dug out the arm. Fang marks, ripped and ringed by dried blood, covered the flesh. I dug a deeper hole and kicked the arm back in it.

I wasn't too thrilled with the remains of my "meals", but I packed the dirt down over the wayward arm. Whispering to my shadows, I chanted the incantation for new grass, which sprung to life above the grave.

All finished, I dissolved the shovel into thin air and headed back to my room in the Haven.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

I curled up under my blankets again. Who would care if I lost my reflection? Was I turning into a vampire? Auru had said I couldn't. What if he was lying?

I was stupid to trust anyone. I felt a familiar aching in the back of my mind. I wanted a blade; I wanted to bleed—to cut deeper than I even had before. But Yami had taken my last knife.

_Yami…._

I curled up even tighter and tried to block out the world. Nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

_Yami's View_

I was sweaty and dirty from the work I'd done. Once I'd climbed back into my room, I shed my shoes, jeans, and jacket and walked into the bathroom. I yanked the handle to turn the water on.

The shower nozzle spat at me, and I smacked a fist into the wall to get it to work right. It did.

I slipped off my boxers and got in the shower. The cool water pounded against my back and ran in rivulets down my chest and legs. I closed my eyes.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

It was 5:32 when Yami got back from wherever he went. I could hear the shower start to run.

Still curled up under the blankets, I shifted and pulled the covers down tighter around me. Kami-sama, was I ever pathetic.

Miserable, I dozed off. I woke up to the bathroom door banging open.

It was getting a little hot under the covers, so I stuck my head partway out of my nest of blankets to catch a breath of cool air.

Yami was standing by his closet, facing away from me, and he was wearing a towel. A very…_low-riding_ towel.

Heat rose to my cheeks. Yami was lithe and strong-looking. A couple scars curved over his smooth skin; a trail of soft black fuzz led down from his navel.

_Oh, Kami-sama…I can't tear my eyes away…_.

Yami reached in his closet and pulled out a pair of boxers.

_Please go back in the bathroom to change_! Part of me screamed out in my thoughts, but the other, sinful half of me didn't want that at all….

Yami let the towel drop. _He thinks I'm asleep! Someone "up there" must HATE me…._

I snapped my eyes shut and buried myself under the covers. But it didn't help. The image of Yami with no clothes was burned into my mind.

I heard some indistinct sounds, and then the soft thump of Yami sitting down on his bed. He yanked a pair of socks on and then got up.

"Yugi-kun?" Yami put a hand on top of the blankets. "Yugi-kun, wake up."

"Yeah?" I pulled the blankets off me, trying for the life of me to act like nothing was wrong.

"I'm going to dinner—aren't you coming?"

"Oh." I felt my face heating up. How could Yami act so normal? "I'm—I'm not hungry."

"Well, keep me company then." Yami latched onto my wrist and pulled me up.

"Okay," I stammered. My clothes were rumpled from sleep and I attempted to straighten them with one hand. Yami pushed open the door and let go of me.

My wrist felt branded. Yami touched me. _He doesn't think I'm disgusting, or weird. _Yami held the door and I walked through, a tiny, hopeful bubble inside me. A couple other boys were in the hall, walking towards the cafeteria.

Yami and I joined the crowd. We shuffled down the hall and down the stairs. The large double doors to the cafeteria had been closed, and another boy I didn't know yanked them open.

Yami strode over to the line and flipped a tray up as though he'd done it a million times.

"Come on, Yugi-kun." Yami beckoned me into the line with him. I stood beside him, hands resting on the counter. Sighing exasperatedly, he reached across me and yanked another tray out. "Eat something," he ordered.

Yami grabbed a plate and piled it high with lasagna, a salad, and breadsticks. I just grabbed a salad, and at Yami's insistence, some pasta.

We sat down at the table we had used before. Yami began eating as though he was ravenous.

_…Ugh…this is awkward. I hate uncomfortable silences._

Yami noticed I wasn't eating. "Don't make me force you to eat," he said, and motioned his fork and my untouched plate.

I picked up my fork and stabbed at my salad. Yami nodded and went back to his lasagna.

Three bites into my light dinner I found that I was hungrier than I thought, and I ate with a little more enthusiasm.

Still, my stomach was still churning over the dilemma sitting across from me. Yami took a drink from his glass and met my eyes. I broke the eye contact. It felt like he was looking into my soul.

_Of course. He read my diary. _

_Did he?_

I took another bite of salad, more to occupy my mouth than anything else. It tasted bland.

But I had to know. I took a deep breath.

"Yami-kun?"

Yami swallowed. "Yes?"

I felt my courage melting away like an ice cube in summer. I took another deep, shuddering breath. "Yami-kun, did you—did you read my di—?"

The double doors of the cafeteria crashed open, with a scream from outside.

"_Body!_" A girl ran into the room, panic apparent on her face. "They found dead bodies in the east woods!"

Yami's crimson eyes widened.

* * *

GASP :O

REVIEWERS: This chapter was extremely hard to write, and I ended up starting over about three times. Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. The next chapter will be better, since you reviews last time sent my imagination into overdrive and I know what's going to happen!

Next update: TT Over Christmas break, since finals are coming…agh…the dreaded finals…. I'm so sorry ;;…

Click the button, review, and make me happy! (It might speed the next chapter along!)


	6. Fly Away On Shadowed Wings

Hello everybody! Ahhh…the reviews…they make me happy…hehehehehe.... Okay! snaps out of it Well I said I'd respond to the reviewers in chapter 5 but wow, I totally did not remember. I'm sorry! --. So here is the review make up!

**REVIEW RESPONSES:**

Eve-Of-Misery: I'm glad you liked the "biting" scene. It was fun to write but I didn't know exactly how it'd turn out. In response to your second review, I didn't mean to torture Yugi so much! (feels guilty) Well I will give him a treat in this chapter to make up for the last, 'kay?

Deranged Kai: It's okay if you don't have any ideas! Just the fact that you reviewed makes me want to write. And if I want to write, then I think about the story a bunch and the plot bunnies come and attack me…yeah okay never mind. Yes, the plot's coming together—sorry if it was a bit plotless in the beginning, had to set up the story on paper and in my head as well.

Yami-Yugi3: Glad you want more! Yami/Yugi forever!

ladywolf(terri: Thanks for your compliments and mentioning the things you liked!

Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian: Thanks for your confidence in me…and in regards to your suggestion, see below! Yeah, trying to update! (I lol'ed at your "holy crap"…lol again.)

Kurai-Ai: Thanks! and I will!

tiger witch: Are you sugar high when you review my fics? Your reviews are so enthusiastic! Thanks! And sorry about the cliffy; I had to get off the computer and go do homework…how crap (glares at homework).

Samurai Angel: Thanks for telling me the shadows are cool…I just stuck them in there at random but they turned out to be very handy. There will be more of them! And I meant to review your fic but FFN was being annoying. I will get to it…sometime…X). Thanks for the "good luck" on my finals!

Black-Caracal: Thanks, and I'll try!

The AutumnRose: Thanks! Your input is very helpful, and you will get your wish (in the next chapter, though, sorry)! Lol to your SP. My computer time is precious to me too, and I spend it writing this lol!

bast4: Yeah, I've read a bunch of stories of either but not both! So here's the fic dedicated to both! I don't know yet if any of the other people are going to show up, but Yami and Yugi are getting out of Haven! Yeah!

kameeko: Yeah, I lose sanity very easily too! And I really like your pic on DA! Thanks for your dedicated reviews, and sorry about the cliffy—I will fix it now (bows).

pharohs-slave: Thank you so much! Well, here's the update you asked for, and the answers to your questions.

Shell57: Thanks for the compliments and encouragement!

Zephyr-Sombra: Yay! Someone enjoys my story! Thanks! (does a little dance)

muffinsnail: I'm glad you like the story—doesn't matter to me when you see it! I hope the OCness is not horribly bad (sweatdrop). And on the fading away bit, it's just Yugi's reflection. And in response to your other questions, they'll be answered in this update! Lol—your review helped me even without the criticism!

KiantheDarkness: Thanks! And well, in answer to your questions, read the chappie!

**AUTHOR NOTES:**

ON THE SUBJECT OF LEMONS: When I thought up the story, I didn't go far enough in my plot to really think about a lemon or a lime. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A LEMON/LIME, please say so in your review! I'm not promising anything, as I have never written a lemon before. If you don't want a lemon, tell me that as well. But since my reviewers have been so awesome, I'll take a stab at a lemon for you if you want it in the story!

SOME ERRORS: In other news, it has come to my attention that some of my emoticons and other random pieces of formatting are not showing up when I transfer the updates to FFN. The most common problem I have is with the underscore character. So if two words are run together, or emoticons lack "mouths", stick an underscore in there somewhere and it will look right. sigh.

NEXT FIC: I've had an idea for a Seto/Jou piece. As soon as I get off my lazy a— and write the first chapter, I'd appreciate it so much if you'd all take a look. (It'll be pretty different from this one.) But I won't drop off with this fic!

NEXT-NEXT FIC: Another plot bunny attacked me with an idea for a Bakura/Ryou piece. It would kind of be a one-shot/sort of songfic deal, but it would be kind of like this fic. Again, it's low on my to-do list. Just warning you that it is in the works.

**ON WITH THE FIC ALREADY:**

Last time…

_The double doors of the cafeteria crashed open, with a scream from outside. _

"_Body!" A girl ran into the room, panic apparent on her face. "They found dead bodies in the east woods!"_

_Yami's crimson eyes widened._

**Dead & Dying**

**Sixth**

_Yugi's View_

I saw Yami's eyes widen, and in the space of an instant, everything fell into place. The bodies were his.

Around me, screams shattered the silence. I vaguely registered the girl who'd run in fainting. Uniformed people rushed to her.

"EVERYONE!" Hodashi-san shouted to be heard. "GO BACK TO YOUR ROOMS! IMMEDIATELY!"

I looked at Yami again, to see what he was going to do. I thought I had seen fear in his eyes, but now it was replaced by steely resolve. He seized my wrist and pulled me up. "Come on!"

Confused, I half-stumbled, half-ran out of the cafeteria, Yami pulling me along. We pounded up the stairs ahead of the other, panicked boys. Yami skidded to a stop in front of room 105.

He slammed a fist against the door. "AURU-KUN! Open up!" Shadows curled around Yami's hand and yanked it towards the doorknob. He twisted it and shoved the door open.

Auru and Rino were curled up together, mostly asleep, on the bottom bunk. I blushed and looked away.

"Auru-kun! Pay attention!" Yami strode over to Auru and seized his shoulder. Auru looked up at Yami, shocked and confused. Yami, as serious as ever, spoke four words. "They found our graveyard."

Auru and Rino were awake in a second. Rino's jaw dropped and Auru said, "Oh, shit!" Auru seized his jacket and tossed Rino a shirt. "Damn, Yami-kun, are we—?"

"Meet me on shadowed wings outside my room in twenty minutes—we're leaving."

Yami seized my wrist again and pulled me out the door. We ran to our room. Yami slammed our door shut and flung open his closet. He seized the suitcase in the very back and began stuffing things inside it.

"Yami-kun! What is going on?"

Yami didn't turn away from his frantic packing, but answered. "The graveyard is where I—and Auru, before he found Rino—buried all our bodies. I went there this afternoon. Someone must have seen me there."

"And—and you're leaving?" I couldn't seem to process this fast enough.

Yami wrapped shadows around his clothes and shrunk them to fit inside the suitcase. I hardly noticed. "I have to leave. The Haven people know why I'm here—I killed someone. They think I'm a homicidal mental case." Yami yanked a red bandanna over his spiked hair. "So in less than twenty minutes, they'll bring up a list of who, in Haven, was likely to do this. And my name will be first."

Yami slung on a jacket and stuffed his miniature duffel bag inside a pocket. He turned to face me and held my gaze.

"And…yes. I did read your diary."

I dropped my eyes. He did know.

Yami stepped towards me. I didn't want to hear what he had to say, so I stepped back and made to turn away.

Yami caught my chin instead, with a hand that was cool and strong, and forced me face him.

I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. He was asking a wordless question. I couldn't move at all. Yami bent towards me, taking my silence as a "yes", until he was barely an inch away from my face.

I swallowed. If Yami was faking—

_I can't—I don't—_

I closed my eyes and felt cool lips ghost across my own. Rooted to the spot, conscious thought left me.

Yami's hand slipped past my chin and tangled in my hair, tilting my head up. He pressed his lips to mine. Through my mangled senses, I could feel fangs pushing against my lips as well.

A brief snag of pain sparked in my mind, and the metallic taste of my own blood spread over my tongue. I opened my mouth just a little in shock, but it was all Yami needed. His tongue slipped into my mouth to taste the blood there, and I could do nothing to keep him out.

Yami's other hand slipped up the back of my shirt when I felt the growing need for air. I broke off and breathed in deeply. Yami turned my face back to him almost immediately.

_He doesn't have to breathe—_

A sharp rap on the door froze us both. Yami kissed me once again, quickly, and leapt into the window.

"Yami!" I seized Yami's wrist. Another knock at the door—

Panic shot through me. "Take me with you!"

Yami looked from me, to the door and back again. A muffled, yet still demanding, voice shouted, "Yami Mouto-kun! Open the door!"

Yami locked eyes with me. The moment seemed to last an eternity, a sick feeling fluttering in my stomach. Would Yami take me with him, or would he—?

Yami nodded once. Hope shot through me.

"Shadows of the dark realm, I summon you to this realm to hold the door!" Black shadows exploded into existence from Yami's outstretched hand. They crowded around the door, stuffing into cracks and spreading across the doorframe. "If you want in here, you'll have to break in!" Yami seized a black bandanna from his pocket and tossed it at me. "Put this on and grab a suitcase."

I pulled my duffel out and began tossing things in it haphazardly. When nothing more would fit, Yami shrunk the lot and I jammed the rest of my belongings inside. I yanked on the bandanna. From outside the door, a new voice shouted, "This is the Haven Force Squad—open the door!"

"Open your damn ears! No!" Yami shrunk my duffel and pocketed it. A thud shook the door. Yami met my eyes. "Whatever I do, Yugi, do _not_ let go."

I nodded. Someone outside the door rammed into it. It cracked. It would not hold up again. Yami perched on the window frame. "Grab my shoulders."

I reached up to Yami's shoulders and held tightly.

"This is your last chance! Open the door!"

"I said NO, dammit!" Yami closed his eyes. "Shadows of the black sky, I call you now—!" The door slammed open, letting three tall, strong, very angry men into the room.

Yami leapt out the window and huge, shadowy wings burst from his back.

The Haven Force Squad came to an abrupt halt, gaping at the two boys flying away.

* * *

_Yami's View_

"Wrap your legs around my waist—I can fly better that way." Yugi shifted until his ankles were locked together in front of me.

I wasn't used to flying with a passenger, and the extra weight made me slightly unwieldy. I slammed my wings down into an updraft and rose several feet. It wouldn't take long to get used to this again.

Auru shot out of the forest below, sporting huge black wings like my own. Rino had his arms and legs wrapped around Auru and his face buried in Auru's neck. Rino didn't like heights, apparently.

Auru smiled at us and swooped up next to me. "Hey, Yami-kun. Yugi-kun—glad to see you along!"

"Hey, Auru-kun, Rino-kun." Yugi smiled. Rino managed to look at us and give a weak smile, refusing to look at the ground. The ground happened to be falling away very rapidly.

I flapped my wings again and Auru did the same. "So—Yami-kun—what gives? How did they find the graveyard?"

I was hesitant to answer. How could I have been so _careless_? I hissed in annoyance—whatever I said, Yugi would hear every word. He had trusted me to bite him, to sleep in the same room, to eat food I could have easily poisoned—

And having Yugi's legs wrapped around my waist was not helping my concentration at all. Talking to Auru, thinking, and flying all at the same time was nearly impossible even without Yugi pressed up against me.

"I was careless."

Auru looked at me sideways. I glared straight ahead. In a no-nonsense tone, Auru said, "Look, Yami-kun. It's okay."

"No, it's not. I put all of you in danger."

"Hey, at least we're out of there." Auru was being surprisingly sympathetic about my major faux pas.

But I didn't say anything. There was a reason I'd stayed at Haven for so long, and I was beginning to feel somewhat guilty about it.

_How the hell did I develop a heart?_

"Well, we're out of Haven, we're all in one piece, and they didn't see your faces. Good thinking with the bandannas, Yami-kun." Auru rose another few feet and I followed.

"Thanks," I said. Auru smiled. He'd cheered me up a little.

"Do you have a plan?"

"Basically, we fly as far away as we can, and then work out what to do from there. We can't stop at the next ten towns—they will know about Haven, and will know that people escaped from it. We're camping until we're far enough away."

Auru looked fairly taken aback at this. "Camping?"

"Yeah." I looked at him. He was staring off into the clouds, annoyance showing on his face. Auru took a hold of Rino's ankle.

_Oh._ _Auru and Rino can't…uh…do anything while we're camping. _

I flushed slightly. _I have _got_ to stop drinking so much blood_.

In silence, we flew for an hour. Yugi ended up with his arms around my neck. Rino managed to look around for a bit. He offered to conjure an invisibility shield when we were over cities, and Auru and I gladly accepted. Shadows do poorly with invisibility, unfortunately.

Forests and buildings rushed by below us. The shadows in my wings chatted little, as the business of flying was rather complicated for them.

And so my mind had lots of opportunity to wander. It didn't wander very far, though—just as far as the passenger on my back.

Yugi's warm weight wasn't really a burden. In fact, having his arms around my neck and his legs wrapped around my waist was…very pleasant.

The lustful part of my mind argued that it would be better if Yugi wasn't wearing anything, but I told that part of my mind to shut up.

I had to fly.

_Fly_.

_I said FLY, dammit! Don't think about—that. _

My wings slipped a little bit as my concentration did. _Crap. I'm so screwed. _

_Augh! Not like that!

* * *

_

Yay! Another chappie! Please, review! And say if you want a lemon/lime or not! Reviewers, you will help me stay sane during finals week!

cough

Alright, as sane as I was before.

Next update: Probably right before Christmas! I'll try and make it a good chappie—my Christmas present to all the **_awesome_** people who have reviewed this fic! MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


	7. Puppeteer of the Dead and Undead

Hey everybody! Chapter SEVEN! (eats more sugar) Less author's notes this time:

LEMON/LIME VERDICT: There will be a lemon/lime in the story! Definitely not for a while though. I'm going to put it in a separate, labeled chapter so that those of you who don't want to read it don't have to.

REVIEW RESPONSES: My computer crashed, so I'm having trouble finding all your reviews and getting on the Internet. (sigh) So the review responses will be next time. Sorry…

ON WITH THE FIC ALREADY:

Last time…

_I had to fly._

Fly.

I said FLY, dammit!Don't think about—that.

_My wings slipped a little bit as my concentration did._ Crap. I'm so screwed.

Augh! Not like that!

**Dead & Dying **

**Seventh **

_Yugi's View_

It had been getting dark when Yami and I left Haven, and by now, all I could see of the cities were bright clustered lights. They bunched together, as though afraid of the darkness. Pairs of bright orbs zoomed down lighted ribbons—cars on the highway with their headlights on.

I was beginning to get hungry and cold. I'd worn my jacket, but Yami was flying very high up and rather fast. The wind tore at my hair and clothes. Stiff from being in the same position for hours, I tried to shift without disturbing Yami. This was nearly impossible, as I was practically wrapped around him.

And that wasn't entirely a bad thing. Concentrating on Yami made me feel less hungry and cold. Yami was not very warm, though.

A snap somewhere off to my left brought my attention to Auru, who had just flapped his wings. Rino was still clinging to him. A flickering white light surrounded Rino's hands as he cast invisibility over the lot of us. Auru angled closer to Yami and me.

"Rino's hungry—can we stop for some food in the next city?"

Yami didn't say anything for a moment—he was evaluating whether we were far enough away from Haven.

"Come on, Yami-kun, we're at least thirty miles away."

"Yugi, are you hungry?" Yami asked me.

"Yeah."

"Okay—let's go lower. Rino-kun—you're holding up alright?"

Rino nodded, but his face was showing the strain of keeping the enchantment up for so long.

Yami and Auru let their wings go slack, which meant that we plummeted about a hundred feet. Rino clutched Auru and nearly let the invisibility shield go.

Auru whispered something to Rino, calming him, and then the four of us dropped even lower. We skimmed the air above a highway.

"There," said Auru, pointing at a restaurant. Light still spilled out of its square windows.

I looked at my wristwatch—it was 11:17. Yami and Auru flew over to a nearby grove of scraggly-looking trees. They descended and landed with two thumps. The shadows that had composed their wings vanished into thin air.

Rino and I stood up and stretched; Auru and Yami massaged sore shoulder muscles. "Never flown for that long before," grumbled Auru.

Yami walked cautiously to the edge of the trees and looked out. He waved a hand and Rino, Auru and I came up behind him.

"Through that alley and up the street to the restaurant." Yami pointed out the way.

We nodded to him and slowly edged our way through the alley. With a quick glance up and down the street, we slid out onto the sidewalk and acted like we were supposed to be there.

Yami got to the door first. He pulled it open and let me go through first. Auru grabbed the door and let Rino through.

The restaurant was a deli-style place. Little trays of sandwich toppings crowded behind the counter. Tables were strewn about haphazardly, with chairs attending them. A few half-hearted plants drooped from hanging pots.

Yami went up to the counter, pushing me in front of him. We ordered, grabbed our sandwiches, and stopped at the cash register.

_Uh oh. I don't have any money—_.

Yami pulled a wallet out of his back pocket. He handed the man tending the cash register some money. The man handed Yami his change, and as Yami put it back, I noticed a lot of _very_ large bills in the wallet.

Suspicion crept through me.

Auru and Rino were already walking to a booth, though, and Yami gave me a push in that direction.

Rino was unwrapping his sandwich; Auru was taking a long drink from his soda. I slid into the booth first and Yami slid in after me. I don't know if it was on purpose or by accident, but he slid a little too far, effectively pressing his thigh against mine.

I concentrated very hard on my sandwich. We were the only people in the restaurant, aside from the man behind the counter, and the silence was deafening.

Auru stopped drinking and looked at Yami. "If we're camping tonight, we're going to have to get something warm for Rino and Yugi-kun."

Yami nodded. "Yeah…but do you see any clothing stores open at this time of night?"

Auru made an annoyed face at Yami. "They don't have to be _open_."

"I am not stealing anything," said Yami firmly. I bit into my sandwich, partially to hide my expression.

_If Yami doesn't steal, then where did all that money come from?_

A job was unlikely, if Yami had been at Haven for as long as it seemed he had.

I was jerked out of my ponderings by a napkin being tossed into my field of vision. I looked up a Rino, who said, "Mustard," and pointed to the corner of his mouth.

I swiped the napkin across my face and smiled sheepishly at Rino. He seemed to be getting over his paranoia and was being less clingy to Auru.

I started listening to the conversation again. "A tent of shadows? That will tell every vampire from here to the coast where we are!" Yami gestured with his sandwich.

"I'm just thinking outside of the box," retorted Auru.

"Well think inside it," said Yami. Auru glared. Rino reached for his hand and Auru's glare instantly softened.

"I'll be fine with the coat in my suitcase," said Rino.

"There are clothes for cold weather in my duffel, too," I reassured Yami.

He took another bite of his sandwich and a drink. "Well, we are definitely stopping somewhere tomorrow to buy a tent, or sleeping bags, or something."

"Agreed." Auru pulled Rino's hand under the table. Shortly thereafter, Rino's face turned a brilliant shade of red.

I finished my drink and turned to Yami. "Refill," I said. He got up and let me through.

* * *

_Yami's View_

Yugi walked over to the drink machine and held his cup up to it.

_You're watching him._

_Am not._

_Are too._

_Am not._

_FINE! I _am_ watching him. Now I'm going to stop arguing with myself_.

I was still standing at the edge of the booth, waiting for Yugi to get back. He would slide in first, and then I would.

_How far are you going to scoot in, though?_

_Will you stop arguing for just a little bit?!_

And then my senses prickled—tingling—

_Yugi!_

I shot across the room and flattened Yugi to the ground. A huge, magical explosion tore through the restaurant, just missing us and our booth.

The microwave and oven in the kitchen exploded, leaving an enormous hole straight through the restaurant. Auru had seized Rino and adopted a fighting stance in the back corner of the restaurant.

I could feel Yugi breathing, and a part of me was very relieved. He was alright.

But another part of me was highly attuned to the sickening _presence_ where the door of the restaurant used to be.

Footsteps crunched through the rubble. A tall man appeared through the smoke. He was clothed in black from head to toe, with a bandolier of seven bells across his chest.

"Hey!" The restaurant man crouching behind the counter stood up, a gun in his hand.

The intruder, moving extremely fast, grabbed a bell and rang it. The sound was piercing and horrible. A white orb left the man, and he collapsed over the mutilated countertop. His eyes were unfocused. His soul had been taken.

The intruder looked around, bell still ready in his gloved hand, and spied Yugi and me.

"Damn. I missed," he said, _tsk_ing in annoyance. He prepared to ring the bell again.

_Oh no._

A sickening nausea replaced the sandwich in my stomach.

_He's a necromancer_.

* * *

(hangs off edge of cliffie...) 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Next update: Early next year! Going away for Christmas. Sorry about the short chappie—the next one will be longer and not so rushed. (sweat drop)

A necromancer is a wizard who specializes in magic dealing with the dead and undead (a.k.a. Yami and Auru), using them as puppets, raising them from the dead, stealing their souls, killing their physical bodies, etc. (gasp!) Necormancers are usually equipped with seven bells (this concept is from the _Abhorsen_ Trilogy, by Garth Nix.)

Your reviews will add to my Christmas happiness (and possibly speed the next chapter along). HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!


	8. Only Half A Soul

Gomen nasai for the delay…both my computers crashed (taking the rough draft of this chapter with them) and it was a huge mess. But now it's all good.

* * *

**Review Responses **

DarkAnimePriestess: Thanks! (blushes) I will continue…can't get this story outta my head…

Muffinsnail: Thanks for supporting the OCness; as hard as I try I can't seem to make the characters quite as "IC" as I want. But with YY yaoi…well…it's hard, to say the least. Thank you so much for your constructive criticism. It helps me so much, especially since I don't have anyone beta-read these things…. Yeah the story just took a major plot-leap. I fixed the "-kun" bit; thank you for pointing that out. Yami's character I did put a lot of thought into and I'm glad it shows. I had a different reason in mind for why Yugi thinks Yami might be faking…well I'll just write the thing and you can say if its good or not (won't be for a couple chapters though). Yeah the seven bells thing is Sabriel lol! I know the blast of energy is kind of abrupt...the transition there was really hard to get. Who the necromancer is targeting and why is explained in this chappie. And the plot will slow down lol. Thanks for pointing out my repeated line—compy problems XD. I'm a stickler for chronology so yeah lol. I think that when I have time I will play the wallet money thing up a bit more. I wish I could read fanfic at 3 in the morning! I can't hold anything against you-thanks again for taking the time to review!

Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian: Thank you for your lemon/lime help & support! I will ask you for advice when I get to the lemon/lime. No…chapter 8 will not turn out good. It is a terrible cliffie. (hangs head) Well citrus is great lol.

Inuyasha0001: Yeah I actually wrote something funny instead of totally angsty XD. Thanks!

Ladywolf(Terri: Citrus is definitely always good for you. Thanks for reviewing every chapter! o

Yami-Yugi3: Yay somebody wants me to write more!

Eve-Of-Misery: Intrigue, danger, and possibilities, oh my! Lol okay just had to say that. Yes I did repeat parts but I fixed that…stupid compy problem. Thanks (happy face).

Pharohs-slave: Definitely no lemon yet but yes citrus! Thanks for saying it keeps getting better and better…it is nice to know my fic isn't spiraling into the realm of boring PWPs lol.

The AutumnRose: waves a yaoi lemons 4-ever banner too Thanks…sorry for the delay XD. Yes, the necromancer is someone we know. You're so dedicated thanks!

Kurai Ai: Yes! Yami and his sexy self! Yeah…Yami didn't really screw up but that will be explained soon. Thanks!

Tiger witch: Thanks for loving the fic! Yeah I read a YGO fanfic where there are two OC's who are similar to Rino and Auru in their…habits. Lol at your postscript!

Kameeko: Thanks for telling me—I'm going to make the rest of the story make sense without the lemon/lime and mark the chapter, so just skip it. Thanks for reading, and don't have kamoray kill me for this cliffie...eep!

Chihiro: Ack don't kill me! There will be a very emotional moment in the next chapter! Lol at your "mood swings" bit…that was funny.

Yaminakathy: Thanks (smiles). I try to lol.

Masami, Mistress Of Fire: Lol thanx for reviewing that was amusing.

Damned to Heaven: Yay! It's interesting and well-written! (dances)

Silverwolf-bakura13: Thank you…it's nice to know that. Sorry about the cliffie…this one is even worse…ack. I'm addicted to "Y" stuff lol…I'm glad your sister reads my story (happy face).

CelseaDarkheart100: Ryou and Bakura will be in the story! Seto probably; Jou maybe. Thanks!

Kian: The story will make sense without the lemon/lime, so you can keep it that way. I'm glad you love it (happy face) and want an update lol.

Chelly Angel: I'm glad you stumbled across this story too lol! Garth Nix does rock. Thanks for putting me in your favs!

Krystal-Grasshopper-Nyght: I, too, do lurk sometimes, and have actually been on ffnet for quite a while without doing hardly anything but read. I do feel loved—thanks!

Samurai Angel: Abhorsen trilogy rules. Thanks for sticking with me through the story!

Winters Child Fallen Angel: Thanks! The enthusiasm makes me want to write more yay!

Meant2Live: Yami makes a great vampire . Thanks for reviewing!

Tainted Hikari: Thanks for commenting on the kiss; it was harder to write than I thought it would be XD. Yay update!

Dark Angel Of Fire Ice: Yes, things are about to get interesting. Yay you love the fic! (dances)

* * *

**On With the Fic Already **

_Last time… _

_The intruder looked around, bell still ready in his gloved hand, and spied Yugi and me. _

_"Damn. I missed," he said, tsking in annoyance. He prepared to ring the bell again. _

Oh no.

_A sickening nausea replaced the sandwich in my stomach. _

He's a necromancer.

* * *

**Dead & Dying **

**Eighth **

_Yami's View_

Springing up from the floor, I threw a shield up as the necromancer rang the fatal bell. I could feel the sound pushing fiercely against my shadows, trying madly to get in.

"Auru, Rino—get out of here!" I shouted. Auru seized Rino around the waist and ran out the gaping hole in the back of the restaurant. If I needed help, I could call Auru through the shadows. Rino shouldn't be here anyway if it was going to get bloody. Neither should Yugi. I took a deep breath as the bell sound scratched at the barrier.

"Yugi, follow Auru and Rino. Go with them." My voice sounded strained as the necromancer sent a fresh wave of noise crashing against my sound-shield.

"Go!" Yugi was shocked into movement and began backing up—slowly. "Yugi, go!" He spun around and dashed through the hole in the back of the restaurant. I let the shield go.

Five throwing daggers flew at me and I dodged. I was in front of the counter—actually, where the middle of the counter used to be. Now itwas simply a gapinghole. Careful not to trip over the remains of the counter, I didn't dodge quite far enough and let a throwing dagger slice me on the cheek. I slapped one hand to my face, only to be rewarded with a searing burn across my hand.

_Dammit! His daggers have crosses on them_.

I reached for throwing daggers of my own and rolled behind the mutilated counter. The necromancer laughed lazily.

_Think I'm running away? Just TRY and laugh when I slit your throat!_

I sent three daggers slashing towards my masked assailant. He avoided the first two easily, but the third caught his mask and ripped it in two. His mask and the hood attached to it fell, letting silver-white tresses fall out.

"Damn you!"

"Bakura-san?" I asked incredulously. _The reclusive director of Menoma's Haven? WHAT!_

"One and the same," he snarled, drawing a long, curved sword and lunging at me.

I summoned a shadow sword of my own and parried, feeling the weight of his blow make me shudder.

Bakura lunged again, feinting left and hacking downward from the right. I blocked—barely—and stepped backward.

"Gotten lazy, Mouto-san?" Bakura sneered, bearing down with his cutlass. "All those compliant victims just too easy to kill?"

_I'm not lazy! Just out of practice!_ But guilt was beginning to creep into the edges of my mind. _What is _wrong_ with me! Now is certainly not the time for this! _

I lunged at Bakura, stabbing forward. He parried easily and pushed me another step back. Smiling maliciously, he swung in an arc to the side. I blocked and stepped sideways.

_What is he doing? This swordsmanship is all off—he's just pushing me around like a piece on a chessboard! _

* * *

_Yugi's View_

Auru and Rino were ahead of me, Auru helping Rino not to stumble in the dark. They stopped, though, within shouting distance of the restaurant.

I felt torn inside—between leaving Yami and following his instructions. Yami had told me to go. I did. Yet…Yami was dealing with that necromancer all alone.

_All alone…._

But what was the point of my being there? I was in the way. Certainly not capable of helping, I would have been a burden to Yami.

Auru and Rino sat down. Darkness had wrapped its chilling fingers around the city. Only a streetlight next to the punctured restaurant dared to challenge it.

I sat down next to Rino and wrapped my arms around my knees. Auru glanced over at me with eyes strangely luminescent in the dark.

My anxiety was blantantly obvious, prompting Auru to give me a half-smile and say, "Yugi-kun, don't worry! Yami-kun's got it covered. He can shadow-duel circles around that bas—." Rino gave him a warning look.

"—basket…case," finished Auru lamely. "But seriously, that guy is obviously no match for Yami-kun."

I smiled weakly. I felt exhausted. It seemed like years since I had first walked into the sterilized halls of Menoma's Haven, years since I crossed the threshold of room 103 and seen Yami.

Closing my eyes only made horrible thoughts float delicately across my mind, so I kept them open. I stared without seeing into the darkness that surrounded us.

* * *

_Yami's View _

Stepping backwards and sideways, I dipped low and slashed forward. Bakura struck downward and pinned my sword. "Heh," he sneered.

I had grabbed a knife with my left hand, however, and cut a wide, fast arc towards his neck. I sliced his collarbone instead when he dodged, narrowly missing the wide leather strap that held his bandolier of bells in place. The bandolier was deep brown leather, with seven pouches across the front. Dark felt dampers kept the bells from accidentally ringing. Bakura hissed in pain and backed up.

It was kind of a mistake on my part too, because the smell of fresh blood threatened to send my vampire instincts into overdrive.

"Are you thirsty, Mouto-san?" Bakura noticed my hesitation and leapt forward, aiming for my neck.

"No, I'm not!" I growled, parrying with more force than was necessary.

Blades flashing, we dueled back and forth. Bakura was pushing me to the back of the restaurant, trying to push me against the wall. How he could duel so agilely wearing nearly all black leather was beyond me and very aggravating. His sword, I realized, had a cross inlaid in it, and if it cut me, I was history.

I hacked downward, trying to cut Bakura's sword arm, but he parried and pressed down. He grinned evilly, a malicious glint in his eyes. Bakura was taller and was much more used to a sword. _Fine. Time to switch to my own style_.

I let my sword go abruptly, and it vanished. Bakura stepped back, slightly surprised, and let go of his sword with one hand. That hand drifted towards his heavy bandolier of bells.

"No!" I snarled, curling shadows around his hands. They burned him as crosses burned me. Bakura hissed and resheathed his own sword. His scabbard looked quite worn from frequent use. That did not bear thinking about at the time, but it was not a pleasant thought. Bakura took a step back, his black boots crunching rubble as they went. "Fine. Your way."

With that, Bakura lunged at me, explosive ball of grey fire in one hand. I smothered it with shadows and dodged. Bakura changed directions and came after me again. By now, we were nearly to the yawning hole in the back of the restaurant and Bakura still hadn't _really_ tried to kill me.

"What are you after!" I growled, blocking a storm of fiery hail.

Bakura grinned evilly. "You haven't figured it out?" He struck again, snapping his fingers and summoning another storm of fire.

"I have nothing you want!" I blocked with a shadow shield and sent my own burst of magic at him.

"On the contrary, Mouto-san, you do," said Bakura, his voice dangerously low.

"And what is that?" I asked, scowling darkly.

Bakura smiled malevolently. "The boy!" Suddenly, his magic ripped through reality, rippling it like water. Pain shot through me as fiery grey tendrils seized Yugi and brought him to Bakura like iron to a magnet. He grabbed Yugi around the neck.

_Oh Kami-sama, no—!_

"The boy? For blood's sake, why?" I asked.

"He's only got half a soul." Bakura grinned briefly, strands of his long white tresses falling in his face.

_Of course. _People who only had half a soul were rare finds violently sought after by necromancers. Taking half a soul was much easier than taking a full one; adding half a soul to a person with only half a soul to begin with made them an obedient, mindless puppet.

"You have no business with me and you're just going to kill him?"

Bakura's voice was oddly strained when he growled a "Yes." He lifted Yugi off the ground and tightened his grip on Yugi's neck.

I put my hands in my pockets.

"You want to kill him? Go ahead."

* * *

Don't kill me! It was either update with a cliffie or keep you guys waiting for another week...which do you prefer? It is a curse.

Read & Review (more reviews more inspiration more writing)


	9. Protecting You from Me

**To all readers: **Yaoi, violence, and sort of death here! (He doesn't really die, but you don't find that out in this chappie.)

**To people who find life funny sometimes**: My world history teacher announced a notebook check. Unfortunately, a week ago, I decided to draw in the margin of my notebook, and there, right above my notes on the Magna Carta, are Yami and Yugi kissing. I'm going to have to do something about that….

**To all Bakura fans:** I am a fan of Bakura too and he does have a reason for being so bloody evil here; I'm not just making him completely heartless to fit the storyline.

**To all yaoi lemon/lime fans:** PLEASE GO READ MY OTHER FIC! This fic was written firstly because the idea wouldn't leave me alone, and secondly because I wanted to practice for the citrus-y stuff I want to put in here. REVIEW to make me a better writer!

**To all reviewers:**

: Yes. Thankfully, he is, otherwise the whole YYxY bit in this fic would…die. Literally.

Kian: Thanks! Answers to your questions in this chapter. I'm glad you think it makes sense…even I wasn't quite sure what I was doing there (sweat drop) but now the plot is all nice and worked out in my head.

Ohkami Majin: Yay a new reviewer! Thanks for saying its original. Here's your update!

Kristen89: Sorry. I will write more! Thanks for reviewing!

Samurai Angel: Thanks for answering my question. I hate cliffies, but I can't stand waiting endlessly either. I hope you have an awesome day or night too lol!

Ryou's Twin Sister (a.k.a. tainted hikari): Yeah! Welcome to the club lol. Yes…the yaoi is coming up! I'm glad you liked the plot twist. And that is the first time anyone has called me an authoress…kind of like that lol! Hmmm…not a bad idea with that rope….

SoulDreamer: Here's your update…and a description of WTF Yami is doing lol.

Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian: Yay I'm good at something (sweat drop). Thanks for answering my question and the lemon help—please go read my other fic and review it. Wow…you even printed it off…(is super happy). Thanks!

AngelFalls: I agree with you completely. I will lol!

Chelly Angel: (can't write character death) Rest assured, Yugi lives. A lot of my ideas seem to be coming from somewhere way, way out in left field lately…. A little Bakura/Ryou will be in the fic, but not for awhile.

Kurai Ai: Are you killing Bakura? Yugi doesn't die, don't worry .

Silverwolf-Bakura13: No, wasn't kidding. XD Both the author and the readers are addicted to this lol. Your sis isn't addicted…well…that okay…but I cannot understand…YYxY forever. Yes…certain people would kill me too if they found out. Most of my ideas are coming from left field (or farther out) lately…lol. Thanks!

ladywolfTerri: Thank you for assuring me my life will continue until I finish the fic, no matter how many evil cliffies I leave behind. Thanks, and I'm glad Bakura isn't too badly cast as the necromancer. Here's your update!

SPUW Commander: Don't panic! Here's the update!

Pharohs-slave: Yami is not insane, but will receive some strong words from Yugi for being so awful. I had to put a(nother) major stumbling block in their relationship…curse you, plot bunny. Here is the cliffy fix! (Your pen name is a career I could definitely like…lol.)

TwinSanity: Lol. Of course Yami has a plan, and here it is!

Eve-Of-Misery: Yes…in fact…that did happen. But yes…there is a trick. Here's the update XD.

Kameeko: (edges away from Kamoray and pokes update in your direction) Here…thanks for reviewing…heh heh heh….

**

* * *

On With The Fic Already:**

_Last time: _

_"You have no business with me and you're just going to kill him?" _

_Bakura's voice was oddly strained when he growled a "Yes." He lifted Yugi off the ground and tightened his grip on Yugi's neck. _

_I put my hands in my pockets. _

_"You want to kill him? Go ahead."

* * *

_

**Dead & Dying **

**Ninth**

_Yugi's View_

_Air…breath…can't…!_ Bakura's hand was constricting my throat, cold fingers digging in painfully.

Yet far more painful was Yami's cold indifference. I don't know if it was the shock or the lack of oxygen that kept me from processing this.

_"Go ahead." _

_Yami…! _A cold, emotional pain stabbed into my heart, slicing my growing affection for Yami to shreds. Why should I struggle against Bakura, when my reason for living couldn't stand me?

Suddenly, shadows burst from Yami's fingers and coalesced into a dagger. "Your fight is with _me_, Bakura-san!" Yami shouted, plunging the blade through Bakura's neck.

Bakura screamed and fell to his knees, letting go of me. I crumpled to my knees.

Yami wrenched his blade out of Bakura's neck. Bakura, seeming to focus on something only he could see, cried, "ANGEL! NO! Don't—don't come for me…." He stopped, slowly closed his eyes, and sprawled on the tiled floor of the ruined restaurant.

A breeze of cold grey magic blew over Bakura's lifeless form. His body slowly became a shining black mist that rose to the sky.

_Gone. He's gone. It's alright…Bakura-san is gone._

I knelt in the rubble, shaking and covering my face with my hands. Each breath tore through my throat, painful and renewing all at once.

The crunch of Yami's boots through the rubble moved away from me, and then across the room, circling the edges of the shambles.

_Away. He's leaving you_.

My eyes were blurry and wet, but I didn't seem to know why. My right hand left my face, questing outward for—

I cut my finger on a sharp, twisted bit of metal. The pain and pleasure from the accidental cut brought memories flooding back to me in a furious deluge. Closing my eyes, I focused on one thing.

_I want to bleed_.

I closed my fingers over the piece of rubble and drew it toward me, hoping to slice my wrist deeply, only to have my wrist seized by a cold, brutal hand.

"Don't you _dare_," Yami seethed, breathless words right by my ear. I didn't open my eyes.

"Drop it," commanded Yami. At this, I whirled to face him and opened my eyes.

"Why should I?" I sounded insolent.

"Because," said Yami, dangerously, "I won't bite you again if you do." His grip on my wrist tightened.

"And why should I _care_? You were going to let him kill me! Why should I trust you!" I yelled.

Clearly shocked, Yami let go of my wrist and just stared at me. Abruptly, he dropped his gaze. There was a slit on his cheek—not bleeding, but obviously broken and painful. He was dusty and tired, and the spikes of his hair seemed to droop. His hands were folded loosely in his lap, one hand bearing a smooth burn across the palm. Kneeling in the rubble, Yami seemed smaller and more real. It was silent for a minute, and when Yami spoke again, it was soft and full of pain.

"You shouldn't trust me."

This was completely different that what I had expected, though I'm not sure what I expected in the first place. "Y—Yami?"

He sounded desperate. "I nearly killed you, the first night we were roommates." Yami refused to look at me. "You were sound asleep, and it would have been—should have been—so easy to kill you. I could have drunk every sweet drop of blood you possess; I could have turned you into a soulless creature like myself."

Yami paused. "No. You shouldn't trust me." He looked up at me, a sad smile gracing his lips and filling his eyes with pain. "The only reason that kept me just sane enough not to kill you was—I—I care for you."

My world stopped.

"I thought Bakura-san was going to kill you. It was only the thought of you that kept me from going mad and reducing the room to nothing. I had to bluff. If he thought you meant anything to me, he would have killed you just to see the look on my face." Yami looked down, unable to face me.

Wordlessly, I held out my hand and made to drop the makeshift knife. Yami put up a hand.

"Don't. I have no right to tell you what to do. I want to protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you—Bakura, other necromancers, vampires, even yourself." Yami smiled that painful smile again, the one I couldn't bear to see on his face. "But how can I hope to do that when I can't even protect you from myself?"

Yami stood, back to me, and called upon his shadowed wings. "I can hardly keep myself from bending down and licking all the crimson off your fingers right now." He clenched his hands into fists.

I looked at my fingers, really looked, for the first time. The accidental cut I'd made was bleeding freely, spilling scarlet liquid across my palm and dripping onto the floor.

Yami stretched his wings and snapped them closed. "I'll—I'll take you wherever you want to go. I'll give you back your luggage—and—and then I'll leave." Yami's voice sounded shaky.

_"I care for you."_

My life had been worthless before I went to Menoma's Haven. It was still nearly worthless, but for the first time, someone had truly cared for me—and even said it to my face. In a twisted, painful way, he'd saved my life.

And now, he was leaving.

I was worth something when he was around. Whatever it took, I wanted to stay with him.

I raised my wounded hand towards Yami. He started shaking, fists clenching spasmodically. "Yugi—stop—I can't take it—don't," he pleaded.

"Please…turn around."

"You don't know—what you're doing—." Yami sounded as though he had a bit of a hiss in his voice. His fangs had sprouted, impeding his speech.

"You're thirsty. I want you to stay with me. If you tasting my blood is the only way, go on and have as much as you want."

"Yugi—what you're doing—to me—." This last was forced out through clenched teeth—clenched fangs. His wings vanished—Yami didn't have the willpower to keep them there.

"You can't kill me," I said, standing up and holding my bloody hand even closer to Yami. He shook even more. "So go on."

Yami whipped around and pinned me to the nearby wall with his right arm, seizing my right hand with his left. His fangs made the predatory smile on his face all the more dangerous; the mad, vampiric glint in his eyes told me he had let all pretense of control go.

His tongue slipped in between my bloody fingers and I pushed my hand towards him, having recovered from the momentary shock. Yami responded by letting my fingers in his mouth and pinning me harder against the wall—with his body as well as his arm. The contact nearly made me gasp aloud.

Finished licking my fingers clean, Yami entwined his fingers through mine and chilled my hand. I knew that cold feeling without looking—shadows had healed my hand.

Yami didn't stop there, though. He closed his eyes, slid my hand around his waist and, once he was sure I'd leave it there, slipped the hand that wasn't pinning me under the edge of my shirt. Cold fingers met warm skin and this time I did gasp.

Yami ignored my sharp intake of breath and let his hand roam farther upward under my shirt. "Y—Yami?"

He opened his eyes, now deep crimson and very predatory, and held my slightly fearful gaze. "I'm not done, Yugi," he whispered threateningly. I swallowed, but reached nervous hands up to my collar, undoing buttons without thinking.

Still pinning me with his body, Yami yanked my collar aside and tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. I leaned my head to the side and forward onto his shoulder. Yami held me like that, making sure I wouldn't—couldn't—move. I knew what was coming—the sharp pain, the slow pleasure—

Yami opened his mouth and leaned down, biting down slow and hard. I clenched my hands into fists and bit my lip to keep from crying out.

Hot, burning satisfaction marked the place between my shoulder and neck. Yami drank deeply, making short work of the remaining buttons on my shirt. His hand splayed across my chest.

Yami's fangs sunk in even deeper, sending an overwhelming wave of pleasure to my mind that far outweighed the one of pain. I pushed towards Yami, who pushed me back against the wall with his body, as if saying, "Stop that."

I quit moving and Yami moved his hand from my chest south, slipping two fingers under my belt.

I don't know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that I heard a cough right then, as my mind was unable to comprehend anything but Yami's touch.

"Yami-kun?"

Fangs lifted from my shoulder. "Auru-kun," greeted Yami coldly, putting his arms loosely around my waist in a gesture that clearly broadcast _MINE._ His fangs and chin were bloody and he seemed reinvigorated. Yami licked his fangs off, still piercing Auru with a murderous glare.

"Whoa, Yami-kun. I already have my reflection. Chill," said Auru, hands up in a casual surrender. He hadn't helped Yami fight Bakura for one obvious reason—I was Yami's. It was Yami's business, not his. I didn't understand what Auru meant about his reflection, but I was beginning to understand more about why vampires acted like they did.

That still didn't change the fact that I stood shirtless in Yami's arms. Mortified, I hastily began buttoning. Yami blinked. The predatory glint in his eyes was gone. He stopped me at the top button.

Auru smirked, but didn't say anything, as Yami brushed his lips over my wound, leaving cold, unblemished skin.

"Rino! It's PG now," Auru called. Rino stepped through the gaping hole in the back of the restaurant carefully. He blinked at Yami and me, probably because Yami still refused to let go of me, and went to stand by Auru. Auru's black curls were in disarray; he was wearing a navy blue jacket and black pants. He slipped an arm around Rino, who was wearing a fuzzy cream sweater. His bright red hair and cheeks stood out.

"Are we leaving now?" Rino asked.

"Yes," answered Yami curtly. He sprouted shadowed wings and snapped them irritably. He turned around knelt so I could get on his back.

Once comfortably situated, Yami put his arms under my legs and led the way out of the shambles that was once a restaurant. Auru sprouted wings and Rino hopped up onto his back, apparently more experienced at that than I.

Rino's hands flashed white, casting invisibility over the lot of us. Yami and Auru ran a few paces and flapped powerful wings, launching us into the sky.

Yami kept his hands under my legs and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Once, during the flight, he turned to me and whispered, "Mine."

* * *

This isn't the end! Bakura isn't dead, first of all! It seemed like an ending to me…maybe because it wasn't a cliffie (ack! don't pummel me!).

The story will not get any limier than that without the section being put in a separate chapter.

This chapter felt daunting to write at first, but it seemed to flow so easily I wrote three pages before I'd even realized!

You know the drill! Click that button and make me smile!


	10. Flickering

O.O…over…100…reviews! Yay! I never thought I'd even get up to fifty with this stunt XD! (I didn't think I'd write more than five chapters either -.-u) But here we are at chappie ten! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!

There is a short new bit with Yugi, Auru, and Rino while Yami and Bakura are battling in chapter eight. Nothing has changed plot-wise; it just reads better that way.

THANK YOU's to everybody who reviewed _Sweet Surrender 1_! I will try and write chapter two soon but I expect it will take longer. And as my weekend is as full as my closet…yeah. That's pretty darn full.

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**  
Review Responses**: 

YamixYugiforever: Thanks! Here's the update! agrees w/ your name!

Aquastar: Yay! Someone loves the story! hands you the update

KiaSapphire: Oh thank you! blushes I hope I continue to put good stuff in the story!

Sephrothlay: Thanks! is a big fan of YGO vampire stories too

Muffinsnail: Omg your reviews are so long and thorough! Yeah…with the italicized bit after "Go ahead"…I was trying to something and it didn't work out. Deleted that. Yay new word . Fixed the "gone he's gone" part. I'm glad you think the Y/Y part is good! I think by description you mean background? I'm adding a lot here and in the next chapter. Sometimes your review bites, but its better to know what I mess up on than to blunder along badly XD. Okay, the bit about Yugi letting Yami "close enough" to drink his blood…. I was thinking kind of like this: Yugi wanted reassurance that Yami was bluffing—to be closer to Yami. Yami was starting to pull away because he realized that Yugi was temptation waiting to happen. Yugi saw that Yami wanted blood; if Yugi gave him blood, Yami would stay. If Yami stayed it would prove to Yugi that he did care. reads last few sentences over Okay…that was odd. Ignore that, I guess. Didn't make much sense…sigh. Okay enough of that! No you don't write too much! It is very helpful! Um…hard question about the "blood" bit there. Yami is attracted to Yugi, and biting Yugi is a way for him to touch Yugi...to be kind of intimate with Yugi. Vampires don't normally care about their victims. Their drinking blood is _sort of_ (very loose analogy here) like us eating food—it tastes good and it's nice, but it's not arousing. The reference to the reflection is not quite how I had thought about it…since the next to chapters are background/description-laden, I think I will explain it better soon. 70...that's pretty good…but keep helping me improve please! I'm glad the plot is easy to follow and it's moving along at a good pace. I am happy, and I hope you are too! Heh…my response is nearly as long as your review (sweatdrop). Okay bye!

Kisara-san: Nobody is slated to die anytime soon. Thanks!

DragonG1rl14: Thanks for saying that—it's nice to know which parts were written well! I will write more!

Kian: Thanks…blushes. You find out more about Bakura in this chapter, and there will be more new characters coming soon (to a fanfiction near you! XD) Yes you made sense! Thanks so much! wishes you sound sleep

Slave Of Darkness: Ooh…curious. Thanks and I will!

Ryou's Twin Sister: Yes lemon, no, not now. I read your story and I'm reading others to get ideas and pointers. Thanks!

Serena the Hikari of Love: Oh thank you . Lol…Bakura 'fixing' that.

Elisa Stonetear: Yay I made you use caps lock . Nope, definitely no forgetting Yugi! Thanks!

Dark Angel of Fire Ice: Thanks! YYxY is my favorite, but Bakura is one of my favorite characters too (he comes back…never fear).

Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian-.-u…yeah. Just when it was getting good XI. Thanks for your help! hands you the requested update

AngelFalls: Oh, how delusional we are…I can stop writing this any time I want to…NOT. Hahaha okay denial! I can't stop writing this! Anyway…here's the update!

Alaquathesweetgumtree: Thanks! I have seen several good stories left hanging and if at all possible I will not do that to this story!

Kodaijin Hiei: No I will try very hard not to abandon this story! And here's your update!

Samurai Angel: Thanks for making me smile! I check my e-mail in the morning before I go to school…having a review to read makes my day that much better. I've converted you to a YYxY fan XD! Yeah I went through something similar lol. Now I love this stuff. You have an awesome day/night too!

TwinSanity: Just have to ask, first—is your name supposed to be a pun? Thanks you guys. hands you update

SoulDreamer: lol Thank you! Here's the update!

Inuyasha0001: Yay it's kawaii! Here's the update!

Chelley Angel: Heh yeah they do…thankfully, he seems to have forgotten about said notebook check. I just put that "pg" line in there out of randomness and ppl seemed to find it really funny lol. Rino is basically…a mage I guess. More about his powers later.

Kuramasgal: eep! Phew. Thanks—here's the update!

Unknown: Thanks! hands you update

Kristen89: Yay for button-clicking! Thanks! People seemed to like that "pg" quote even though I just stuck it in there out of randomness lol. Here the update for you!

ladywolfTerri: Yay! Thanks so much! Here is the update!

Pharohs-slave: Oh yes…tempting. Oh don't die of a cliffy! Here's the update—read it so you survive!

TheFalloftheDemon: Oh thank you! hands you update

Kameeko: Thanks…oh, Kamoray is so cute when not threatening to kill me! XD

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**  
On With the Fic Already:**

_Last time…_

_Rino's hands flashed white, casting invisibility over the lot of us. Yami and Auru ran a few paces and flapped powerful wings, launching us into the sky. _

_Yami kept his hands under my legs and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Once, during the flight, he turned to me and whispered, "Mine."_

**

* * *

Dead & Dying **

**Tenth**

_Yugi's View_

Much later, when all of this craziness was over, I realized that even in the most bizarre of situations, humans tend to revert back to habits they have always known. It gives one a sense of normalcy, even when everything around you is spiraling into the 'Beyond Strange' zone.

And so, as I was being flown to an unknown destination on the back of a vampire whom I had very mixed feelings for, accompanied by another vampire and a mage boy who was currently making us all invisible, I checked my watch.

It was one o'clock in the morning. The moon hung in the sky like a bubble, the stars around it mirroring the city lights below. No clouds cluttered the horizon, but mountains crowded together to my left. Dark, fuzzy patches farther ahead indicated forest. I hoped desperately that we could camp sometime soon. Draped over Yami, I felt exhausted—emotionally and mentally.

Rino leaned over and whispered in Auru's ear. Auru flapped his wings and angled over to Yami and me, skirting a radio antenna as he did so.

"Here, Yugi-kun, catch." Rino tossed me a little box, slowing it down in midair with magic so I could catch it mid-flight. "Open." I did. There was some candy in there. I smiled gratefully at Rino. The sugar would probably keep me awake enough not to fall off Yami's back. By the occasional flickers of light from Rino's hands—his invisibility charm—I could see a couple chocolate toffee things and some jawbreakers. I popped one in my mouth.

Auru looked over at Yami with a calculating glance. Yami was staring straight forward, and hadn't said hardly anything since our second flight began.

"Did you kill him?"

Yami didn't answer for a moment. "No."

I blanched. "What!"

"It wasn't his real body, was it?" Auru asked.

"No," answered Yami succinctly. "It was one of Bakura-san's copies." Neither Auru nor Rino seemed shocked at this bit of information, but I was now thoroughly puzzled. "One of you tell Yugi about necromancers." Yami resumed his straightforward stare.

Auru looked from Yami to me and back to Rino. "You tell him, Rino," said Auru.

Rino popped a jawbreaker in his mouth. "Okay." He considered for a moment.

"Necromancers are sorcerers specializing in magic dealing with the dead. They can take souls, make people—dead or alive—their puppets, and summon various denizens of hell."

I didn't think that sounded very pleasant at all. My thoughts evidently showed on my face, because Rino assured me that there were less than a hundred necromancers alive today. It occurred to me that someone in our party must have very bad luck.

"Vampires and necromancers generally hate one another because when a necromancer takes a soul, the body becomes useless to a vampire. When a vampire drinks the blood of someone, necromancers can't use the body."

I nodded. This was a lot of information to digest. None of it seemed to be at all possible anyway. Three days ago I had not believed in the existence of vampires, but now I was in the company of two. Life threw me a curve…more like a hairpin turn.

Rino cracked his jawbreaker in half. "Necromancers always have seven bells. Each bell has a purpose, but I don't remember them all."

"Doesn't matter," interrupted Auru. "The point is never to hear a necromancer's bell. If you do you're basically dead."

"Actually there's three types of death," said Rino, tugging on his cream sweater to straighten it out.

"Three?" I asked.

"Yeah. First, your body can die. Bakura-san's body is dead, but his soul still lives. Necromancers fear the death of their soul more than anything else."

I started chewing on a chocolate toffee. "That doesn't make any sense. Necromancers deal with death all the time, right?"

Rino smiled wryly. "Yeah…it seems very backwards when you think about it. But every necromancer has at least one copy of himself. Necromancers can live for thousands of years, just but transferring their soul to a new copy of their dead body."

"Uh…copy?"

Rino pursed his lips. "It's basically like—like a huge collection of spells that work together to act like a human body. Necromancers make lots of these and tie them to their soul. So when their current 'copy' dies, their soul just moves into the new 'copy' and continues on."

"That's…creepy." I swallowed the chocolate toffee, which had suddenly lost a lot of flavor. "Bakura-san sort of—dissolved when he—died. Was that his copy dying?"

"Yeah," said Auru. "His soul was instantly transported to a new body, wherever he put it."

Rino nodded. "The second type of death is soul death. That's what most people refer to as the 'undead'."

"Like Yami-kun and me," put in Auru. Said vampires flapped their wings to take advantage of a sudden updraft. Luckily, no planes had crossed our path.

"The third type of death is when both your body and soul die. Normal death," concluded Rino.

I swallowed my chocolate roll. "Where did necromancers come from?"

Auru made a derisive snort. "Some suicidal maniac opened the door to hell in this world. He died from opening the portal and left the rest of the early civilizations to deal with all the demons and dead people running about and destroying things," said Auru darkly.

"The mages made a set of seven bells to help in corralling the demons and dead people and to close the portal. It worked, but a decade later, some corrupt bastard stole the bells and used them for evil purposes. He was the first necromancer. He made more sets of bells, and to this day necromancers have been a pain in the ass," Auru finished. He obviously did not like necromancers.

Rino fished in Auru's jacket pocket for a moment and found a lollipop. "So…any questions?" Rino asked me. "That was a lot of info there—sorry." He unwrapped the sucker and stuck in it his mouth. Auru gave him a strangely nervous glance, but didn't say anything.

I thought about it for awhile. We flew over a freeway, headlights streaking by below. Rino was still careful not to look straight down, not being particularly fond of heights.

Basically, my thoughts came down to this: Bakura was still alive and was coming to kill us.

"How do you kill a necromancer?" I asked nervously.

"You find his body and destroy it," said Auru. "Usually you have to bind the necromancer and make him tell you when his body is hidden, 'cause they hide them pretty darn well. It's their one weakness—their physical body."

"Bind the necromancer?" I repeated. Rino licked his lollipop. Auru glanced at him again and quickly looked away.

"It's—complicated to explain," said Rino. "Basically, binding involves trapping his soul in a copy of his body and making him submit to a truth-spell."

"But necromancers can't be in more than one copy of themselves at once. There's just one of them at a time. They have to make copies in advance," said Auru, looking determinedly forward. He seemed stressed for some reason.

Rino sucked on his lollipop. "Any more questions, Yugi-kun?"

I shook my head no and thanked Auru and Rino for that informative spiel.

Wind from our flight nipped at loose sleeves and pant-leg cuffs. White light kept flickering about Rino's hands. The four of us were safely invisible. I had lost track of the number of cities we'd passed. Endless hours of flight had blurred together into one confusing blob of memory. I think I dozed for about half an hour.

I woke to the sound of Yami's voice. "Auru-kun? Do you see that?" Yami pointed to an oddly shimmering dome of air in the distance. It was on the edge of a cluster of lights—a city. Dark, blurry patches of forest surrounded it on three sides for a considerable area.

"I sense it—more than see it," said Auru, voice cracking in the middle. Rino was still sucking on his lollipop, making it last for quite a while.

"It's a shield over a mansion," Yami said slowly.

"Good!" Auru flapped his wings, instantly brightening. "We can stay inside the shield for the night."

Yami turned to his winged companion, his expression skeptical. "Are you crazy? That thing looks like it's protecting something more precious than—than—I don't know! It's foolish to break into it."

"No it's not." Auru sounded strained. He reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out another jacket. Evidently, he and Rino had shrunk their duffels like Yami and I had.

Rino licked his lollipop again. His lips were turning red from the dye in the candy. Auru tied the jacket around his waist backwards, so it hung down in front, pulling the knot in the sleeves unnecessarily tight.

"Yami-kun, let's just go inside it and camp on the edge." Auru managed that all in one breath.

"Last time you interrupted the flight it wasn't good and I don't intend to stop until we're very, very far away from that necromancer!"

"How do you know where his body is! For all you know we could be flying right to it! Inside the shield we'd be safe!" Auru snapped his wings crossly.

_

* * *

Yami's View _

I glared at Auru. "I know perfectly well why you want to camp inside that shield, Auru-kun, and I wish I didn't." Inside the shield, extra magic would go unnoticed. Auru could conjure a shadow tent. A _soundproof_ shadow tent. For two people.

"Come on, Yami-kun. Yugi-kun and Rino are—sleepy—already." Auru made the mistake of looking back at Rino, who was still sucking slowly on his lollipop. Auru tightened the jacket tied around his waist again, looking determinedly forward. I wondered if he would be able to get that knot undone. Auru glared at me. "Well?"

I paused. "We'll take a look. If the shield doesn't reek of necromancy we might stay."

Auru instantly dropped fifty feet and shot off in the direction of the mansion.

"I said _might_!" I snapped my wings irritably and took off after him.

It took a couple of minutes to get close enough to the shield. Auru and I flew around it a few times. Auru didn't sense any necromancy and neither did I. It felt more like the work of an alchemist or a priest than anything else.

"So are we camping here tonight?" Auru had a weird note of pleading in his voice. Rino kept sucking at his lollipop, quite oblivious.

The shield flickered blue-white every so often, like lightning. I made a decision. "Yes. We are. In the deep forest," I ordered.

"No problem," said Auru, obviously relieved. _Oh please! I swear he can't go for twenty-four hours without—! Uh…never…mind. Bad mental image_.

Auru and I landed more gracefully than before in a clearing on the outside of the shield. We approached the flickering dome cautiously. Chanting softly, I drew a rectangle in midair. My whole body tingled for a moment, but a door-sized hole appeared in the shield. The four of us went through quickly and I drew my hand sharply across the hole. It flickered and returned to like it had been before.

Rino was halfway done with his lollipop when he started sucking up and down the candy. Auru looked at him and shut his eyes. "Would you—stop that!"

"What?" Rino looked at Auru confusedly. "What am I doing?"

Auru fisted a hand in his black curls. "Augh! The lollipop! Quit—sucking on it!"

Rino looked at his candy and turned a shade of red that would make a ripe tomato jealous.

"No…don't—blush—either." Auru sounded very strained.

I took Yugi's shoulders and firmly turned him around. "We're leaving," I said, pushing Yugi in the direction of a grove of trees.

"Don't move!"

A tall brunette stepped out of the darkened trees, a glare on his face and a gun in his hand.

* * *

Another chappie. Another cliffy. Ahh…the self-imposed perils of being a fanfic writer XD. 

You know the drill! Click that button and make me smile.


	11. The Man Made of Ice

Yay! Thanks everybody! Your encouragement keeps me going! This week has been tough homework-wise…(DIE grammar hw! DIE!) Cough. Okay! Now for some fun writing for moi, and some fun reading for u.

**Review Responses:**

Kibethan: Yep! I love Garth Nix's books. And thank you for the list. I don't know if I'll use the same names in this or if I'll even use them at all. (sigh) Thanks!

FanOfYourStory: Thanks! This chappie will probably be long .

Ryou's Twin Sister: lol! Thanks so much! I got your review really late at night when I wanted my geometry homework to DIE, and it really cheered me up. Thanks!

Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian: Oops. I forgot to tell you that I did want that lemon/lime part! I would appreciate it very much. Sorry about the cliffies (sweatdrop). Yay for you! When you start it I'd like to read it!

Elisa Stonetear: I had fun writing the whole lollipop scenario. Thanks for checking so often…even though I can't keep up! Hahahaha taking Rino's lollipop…XD

KiaSapphire: Thank you! And you can say LMR-chan if you want -. Here's a new chappie for you!

Hikari's-dark-side: Yeah! New reader! Thanks! I like writing the OC's just as much as the YY/Y stuff -. Thanx for recommending the story to me…_so_ much more interesting than conjugating Spanish verbs (looks at abandoned Spanish homework with shifty eyes…). Auru and Rino are total OCs, not based off of any characters in Yu-Gi-Oh!...I think their main influence is from a Final Fantasy yaoi fic I read…I think. Don't quote me on that --u. But upon second thought, Auru does sound a bit like Mariku. Aw, poor you. Hope you feel better . I do TaeKwonDo and I know what it feels like to bust something…XD. Here's a chapter to cheer you up!

Kierrn Saro: Oh wow…thanks. blushes I'm glad the storyline hasn't taken a turn for the worse, since it slowed way down in recent chapters. Yeah I get the idea -. I'm glad you like the OC's; people seem to. They were created on the fly in, seriously, about thirty seconds. However, after their entrance scene (in what…the end of chapter three I think), I thought about them a lot more. Auru and Rino became more than random people; they're now an instrumental part of the plot. The mage issue will be addressed in the next chapter, if not this one. More evidence of Auru's condition is going to be addressed. There's a lot of things that happen to Auru and Rino before chapter one of this fic begins. By the time Yugi comes to Menoma's Haven, Auru has really mellowed out quite a bit, so he's not quite as emotional, but hey, Rino's still around to mess with Auru's libido XD. Flashback explaining all that coming soon (to a fic near you XP). Yay, the shadows are cool. When I was writing the chapter where they were introduced, I was going to have Yugi knock on a couple of doors and ask people where Auru was. So blah! Shadows way cooler! (and way more useful to the plot -). Haha yeah they do have a sense of humor. I can't seem to stop writing cliffies. Meh. Anyway thanks so much—here's the update for you!

SoulDreamer: It COULD be! It IS! Here's the update for you! Thanks!

Random Unknown Person: Thanks! Lol. I had fun writing the last part. And yes, I am a chronic cliffie writer. So here's your update! Love the name!

Kristen89: Eep. Sorry. Thanks! To answer your last question…read the update!

Yami no kokoro: Lol! Auru may be a very ancient vampire…but he has yet to leave adolescence behind! Mwahahaha! Okay, enough of me being an evil writer. Yes…Seto is correct! Everybody guessing! Well, as to your other comments, read the update and find out! Thanks!

Chelley Angel: Lol! Thanks! blushes and hands you the update

Serena the Hikari of Love: Update for you! Lol to Bakura! Translation of "Bara Osoreru" please? Or does it just mean "big book"? XD

TwinSanity: Thanks! Yeah for your penname! Here's an update for you guys! Ah, poor Toli. I feel your pain…what do you think I live on? That's right…sugar…glucose…fructose…cough…(reaches for another lollipop—oh wait...—reaches for some gum while sweatdropping)

Kameeko: Yay! Another Garth Nix fan! Yep. It Kaiba. It his mansion. Yay no verbs XD. Here's an update for you guys!

Kodajin Hiei: Yep! None other than the rich CEO himself…which I…as a fanfic writer…now control…muha muha muha…cough. Okay. I'm good. Yes I love Kaiba too! Lol for the folded fan bit! Here's an update for you! (looks around for someone else to hit with a folded fan…XD)

ladywolfTerri: music of doom Haha, just kidding. Here's an update for you!

Slave of Darkness: Yep! Thanks—I had fun writing it! (hands you new chappie)

Animefreak54: Gomen for my slow updating . Thanks for your hours of praise though o! Yep, I've read the Abhorsen trilogy. Eep! No! No chainsaws! Chainsaws bad! I will write! I'm writing, see? Put the scary bladed thingy down!

* * *

**On With the Fic Already:**

_Last time…_

_Rino looked at his candy and turned a shade of red that would make a ripe tomato jealous._

"_No…don't—blush—either." Auru sounded very strained._

_I took Yugi's shoulders and firmly turned him around. "We're leaving," I said, pushing Yugi in the direction of a grove of trees._

"_Don't move!"_

_A tall brunette stepped out of the darkened trees, a glare on his face and a gun in his hand.

* * *

_

**Dead & Dying**

**Eleventh

* * *

**

_Yami's View_

I froze. The brunette standing before my motley group was simply not a threat to Auru and me; normal bullets won't hurt vampires. However, Yugi and Rino were staring an unbalanced harbinger of death in the face.

"Don't shoot," I said, forcing my voice into a calm octave. It was not my life that I was protecting now, it was Yugi's. I hated the sickening feeling that awoke in my stomach whenever I even asked for something, let alone pleaded. That repulsion was only suppressed now by the thought of Yugi.

Auru and Rino had frozen behind me. My ears now picked up a colorful streak of whispered swear words from Auru's mouth. Obviously still having hormonal issues, Auru sounded strained. I sighed internally. _Can't you wait ten stupid minutes while I sort this out!_

The brunette's cobalt eyes narrowed even more. The man's stance was steady and his grip and aim didn't waver. He was wearing a long silver trench coat, similar to the one Bakura wore. I sent a silent wish to whatever deities happened to be listening that Bakura and this man had never before crossed paths.

"Hands in the air," the man ordered curtly. The muzzle of his handgun jerked up slightly, gesturing for us to comply.

I squeezed Yugi's shoulders slightly and raised my hands into the air. Behind me, I heard Auru and Rino doing the same. Yugi took a deep breath and raised his hands as well.

"What are you doing here?" The man questioned harshly. "What do you want?"

The brunette had shown no signs of magical abilities, but I felt a well-spring of magical energy near here. The shield around the mansion shimmered weirdly somewhere behind me, but that wasn't the source. I sent a thought-call to my shadows to scan the area for magical energies.

I was stopped abruptly by a bullet whizzing through my hair. "Don't you _dare_ call on your shadows, vampires. You die if you do. My bullets were once metal crosses," the man said, re-cocking his pistol for another round of fire. Was he a vampire hunter? If he was, Auru and I were in more danger than our human companions. The man in front of us continued to scowl, as warm and friendly as a jagged glacier. "Now answer my question."

"I'm sorry. My friends and I were just attacked by a necromancer." I hoped our exhausted and mussed appearance was enough to convince him; I prayed he believed in necromancers' existence. "All we needed was a magically protected place to stay the night. We're sorry for disturbing you," I said. I wanted to strangle the brunette for daring to shoot in the direction of Yugi, but felt it best to exercise a bit of diplomacy. Our lives were, after all, once again on the line. Auru swore again, very quietly—something about the kind of day he was having.

"Hey!" Another unfamiliar voice and the sounds of quiet steps came from the trees to my right. A blonde man, dressed in an all-black uniform, stepped out of the bushes. His eyes flicked over the situation and he lowered a hand to the gun on his right hip. "Kaiba-san? Everything under control?"

"Yes, Katsuya-san. Go back to the shrine," said the newly-identified Kaiba tersely. Kaiba's eyes did not move from his target (me). The brunette was not stupid enough to do that. _Damn_.

Katsuya's hand twitched a little, itching to grab his pistol. He was obviously some kind of guard. He retreated carefully. "You know where to find me if things get ugly," Katsuya said. The blonde had an accent I couldn't quite place, but was speaking with reserve towards Kaiba.

Once Katsuya's steps had faded, I waited for Kaiba to speak again. It took a moment as he recollected his thoughts.

"At least three of you have magic, correct?" His voice was calculatingly cold.

"Yes," I answered. I wasn't quite ready to provide résumés and introductions, but Kaiba had already sensed my shadows. There was not much point in lying. At the very edge of my senses, I felt a strange, unnatural mix of magic from Kaiba. Was he using a truth-spell?

Kaiba subjected each one of us to an icy glare. "I do not forgive easily. However, I am in need of assistants for a complex enchantment. You can stay the night, provided you engage in no more law-breaking and assist me tomorrow with the enchantment. You can also turn around, walk through the barrier, and, provided I never see your faces again, go free unscathed. I _will_ kill you if you attempt to back out of either arrangement."

I had just opened my mouth to respond when another voice beat me to it. "Excellent!" _Oh, damn_. I could just picture the smile on Auru's face as he continued. "We'd be happy to help you."

I was all for the "get the hell out of here" option, but Auru had to go and ruin it. Now my desire to strangle someone was directed at my companion. I swear his decisions are all based on whether sex is involved or not!

"I suppose introductions are in order, then," I said, resigning myself to staying here for the night. I lowered my hands a fraction. Death did not explode from the gun in front of me.

"I suppose they are," said Kaiba, still fairly frigid in nature. "Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corporation, and owner of this property and practically everything on it. You are?"

"Motou Yami," I answered quickly, before Auru could jump in and say something stupid again. "The black-haired one back there is Soikone Auru-kun; the red-head is Suobanshu Rino-kun. This is Mouto Yugi." As I said Yugi's name, I noticed that our last names sounded exactly the same. I clarified that he and I were not blood-related for Kaiba, who looked slightly skeptical. However, Kaiba's handgun had dropped several notches and was now aimed at the ground in front of Yugi's feet.

"A pleasure," said Kaiba dryly. He thumbed a button on the corner of his trench coat collar. "Yasuhito-san? This is Kaiba. Have Makamoto-san prepare four rooms—."

"Three rooms," interrupted Auru suddenly. "I'll share with Rino."

Kaiba shifted his glare to Auru and released his radio's control switch. "I assure you, I have plenty of spare rooms."

"No…I seriously want to share," said Auru. I felt my desire to choke him go up several notches and clenched my fist a few times. _If lightning strikes anytime soon, please let it hit Auru-kun. _

Kaiba's frigidity increased, but he thumbed his radio again. "Yasuhito-san? Yes, this is Kaiba. Make that three rooms for Makamoto-san to prepare for four guests. Make it in the east wing. And have Seishiema-san prepare a light brunch for five. Yes, I know it's two in the morning! I want those rooms and I want that brunch _now_. Extra coffee for me, black and heavily caffeinated." Kaiba let go of his collar and put his gun back in its holster.

"Well. Shall we?" Kaiba motioned in the direction of his mansion. He was clearly not going to let us walk behind him, so I gave Yugi a gentle push to walk in front of me and followed his first slightly wobbly steps.

Auru, Rino, and Kaiba fell into step behind us. Aside from occasional redirection from Kaiba, the short walk through the dark woods was blessedly uneventful. It gave me time to collect my thoughts.

I had not had time to think about anything else except my confrontation with Bakura for quite a while. Yugi had been put in a small corner in the back of my mind. Now my thoughts wandered back to him.

He had tempted me, back at the restaurant. My vampiric side had taken over in a rush of blood to my head and rush of lust to my body. I know I didn't rape him, but what I did do to him was unclear in my mind. I did drink his blood, because I could feel its warmth coursing in pleasant waves through my body. Yugi wasn't openly terrified of me, so I must not have done anything too horrible.

Then I stopped myself. When had the phrase "too horrible" applied to anything I did? What was I thinking? I was supposed to devour my victims completely, not leave them alive. They could tell others of my existence. The "dead men tell no tales" vampire philosophy had been established for thousands of years and had worked perfectly. Yugi was endangering me just by being alive! I should drink him dead now—no, I should have him assassinated, since I cannot do the deed myself—

I crushed that train of thought too. How can I kill him? I just told him I cared about him; I saved his life!

I saved his life. He owes me. I should drink him to oblivion, right now. _Just seize his shoulders, bite into his neck, drink deeply of what he has to offer—_

"Motou-san?" The sharp voice of Kaiba brought me out of my reverie. Was I thankful…or was I angry? I couldn't tell.

That scared me. _What is happening to me?_

"Motou-san, I would appreciate it if you'd actually follow my directions and not take a roundabout tour of the grounds. I told you to turn left," Kaiba informed me, icicles dripping from his words.

"Sorry," I said quietly. I went to the left.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

Yami walked behind me, silently pensive. He wasn't the only one with troubled thoughts. I bit my lip, and then let go sharply. I can't bleed now.

Suddenly, a huge façade loomed out of the foliage. Kaiba, who I was still fairly wary of, walked up to the building quite normally. Keeping one careful eye on us, he took a card he had on a chain around his neck and swiped it through an electronic reader. It was a very practiced motion, as though he did that all the time.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

"Welcome home, Seto," said an electronic voice. It was the voice of a young boy, apparently only a recording. I wondered why it was programmed to address Kaiba by his first name with no honorifics at all.

"Inside," commanded Kaiba. We were propelled through an empty entrance hall with a high ceiling into a foyer at the left. All I got was the impression of wealth, power, and a taste for the color blue.

A maid suddenly appeared in the doorway of the foyer. "Brunch is served, Kaiba-san."

"Thank you, Seisheima-san. You may go back to bed now." Kaiba shed his trench coat and handed it to her as he spoke. She bowed and left.

"Leave your coats and shoes here," instructed Kaiba. "The informal dining room is through here." The brunette toed off his shoes and left through a set of tall double-doors that dominated the far wall.

Rino shed his fuzzy sweater and sneakers; Auru kicked off his boots but left the jacket around his waist on.

Yami shrugged off his jacket and yanked his boots off. I left my sneakers near his shoes and straightened the collar on my shirt. I ran one nervous hand through my spiked hair, which had suffered greatly during the flight. My hair half-heartedly sprung back into shape, several of my bangs sticking obstinately out at strange angles.

The four of us went through the door Kaiba had used.

"Informal dining room" was a misnomer. "Informal dining room" did not have anything to do with a solid wood table to seat ten, chairs with deep blue velvet seat covers, expensive-looking paintings adorning the walls, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Kaiba sat at the head of the table, presiding over a giant pasta dish that smelled of cheese, spices, and meat, a plate heaped high with fluffy rolls and jam, and a tossed salad which included several vegetables I'd never seen before.

"Sit down and eat already," said Kaiba. His plate was already full. A large mug filled to the brim with black coffee sat in close reach of his right hand.

Auru and Rino sat opposite Yami and me, using the four places next to the head of the table. We filled our plates and dug in. I tore my roll in two and spread strawberry jam over it.

"So…what kind of enchantment is this?" Yami sliced his roll in half with his knife, looking quite at ease with a blade in his hand.

Kaiba stabbed at his salad, neatly skewering a bite of lettuce, carrots, and dressing on four tines. "It's an unlocking enchantment. We have to create a double circle shield, one to protect ourselves from energy backlash and one to keep the excess energy contained."

Auru was eating quickly. He poked Rino to eat a little faster. Rino gave his boyfriend a confused look. "Doesn't a double circle shield involve shadow-runes?" Yami asked, pushing his chicken pasta into a little mound with his spoon.

"Yes," said Kaiba. "I need someone to keep the shadow-runes under control. I will do the unlocking chant myself, but I need an extra source of power to use. The last person will seal the otherworldly chamber once I get what I need out of it."

"Whoa, hold it," said Yami quickly. "You didn't mention anything about an otherworldly chamber. Are you taking something from another world that doesn't belong to you?"

Kaiba's glare was icy. "No. It does belong to me. It was sealed there against my will. I don't intend to let it be kept there any longer."

Yami swallowed a bite of salad. "Well, as long as it does belong to you and won't cause a time-rift, I can help."

"Rino and I will help, too," said Auru, scooping up another bite of pasta.

A quiet hand rapped on the door twice. "Come in," answered Kaiba.

The blonde guard poked his head in the room. "Makamoto-san said to tell you the rooms are ready."

Kaiba's face had a strange expression on it for a moment, but his voice was normal when he answered, "Thank you, Katsuya-san."

Katsuya glanced over the four odd occupants of his employer's table. "I can wait out here if you want me to show them where the East Wing is—."

Katsuya-san was cut off by both Kaiba and Auru. Kaiba's "No, that's not necessary," was drowned out by Auru's "Yes! That would be great!" The blonde looked from his employer to Auru.

Kaiba nodded. "Katsuya-san, tell them how to use the intercom phones on the way."

"No problem, Kaiba-san," replied Katsuya.

Auru scooted back his chair, stood up, and picked Rino up bridal-style. Rino let out a little noise of surprise. Luckily, he'd eaten almost everything on his plate.

"It's been lovely meeting you, Kaiba-san, absolutely fascinating, but Rino and I will be retiring to bed. Now."

"Auru, what are you—?" Rino ended his sentence with a flaming blush, shutting his mouth quickly in embarrassment, having apparently realized just what Auru had planned.

Auru carried Rino around to the door at which Katsuya stood. The guard courteously held the door for both of them. As Katsuya followed them out of the room, I heard Rino say, "Auru…really…it's three in the morning—can't we—?"

"No. You should know what you and lollipops do to me by now. It's your own fault for sucking on that stupid, stupid lollipop."

* * *

XD…the lollipop…again… 

Your reviews make me happy.- So click the button…clicky….


	12. And I'm Not All There Any Longer

Yeah! A dozen chapters, here I come. I do believe I have either ruined or totally made excellent everyone's view of lollipops. Go me. XD

**Review Responses**:

Wrote this over Spring Break. Editing took forever…sorry everyone. Review responses on chapter 14 or thereabouts.

**

* * *

On With the Fic Already:**

_Last time_…

_Auru carried Rino around to the door at which Katsuya stood. The guard courteously held the door for both of them. As Katsuya followed them out of the room, I heard Rino say, "Auru…really…it's three in the morning—can't we—?"_

_"No. You should know what you and lollipops do to me by now. It's your own fault for sucking on that stupid, stupid lollipop."_

**

* * *

Dead & Dying**

**Twelfth**

_

* * *

Yugi's View_

Left with a frosty CEO and a silent vampire as dinner partners, I decided not to say anything. Yami took an unnecessarily violent stab at his salad. Auru was being seriously annoying, messing with Yami's plans. I blushed down at my plate, not really seeing the strawberry jam-coated roll or the hill of chicken pasta.

Yami set down his fork. "I'll be right back," he said abruptly. He touched my shoulder as he stood up, leaving something cold that curled around my neck like a scarf. Kaiba narrowed his eyes, apparently able to see the shadow, but didn't say anything.

The door shut behind Yami. I knew one of his shadows was curled about my neck protectively, but as Kaiba shifted his frigid glance to me, I couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

"Only half a soul," said Kaiba suddenly. My fear got shunted aside by confusion.

"What?"

Kaiba took a long drink from his coffee cup. "Did you know?"

I shook my head, having no clue what Kaiba was talking about.

"You've only got half a soul," clarified Kaiba.

"I…." My voice trailed off. Memories of the past hours floated to the surface.

_Didn't Bakura say something about my soul?_

I hadn't been thinking clearly at all at the time, lack of air and overabundance of fear clouding my thoughts. Had Bakura wanted me because I only had half a soul? I couldn't think of any other possible reason.

"I…I guess I do." I bowed my head, kind of embarrassed. One more reason was added to the list of why I was a freak.

Kaiba took another drink of coffee and glared into the now-empty depths of his cup. He rose from his chair. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," Kaiba said.

I looked up at him. Kaiba slid aside a painting and thumbed a button. Radio static crackled and quit. "More coffee for me, Yasuhito-san; thank you." Kaiba slid the painting back into place and sat back down.

"What—what does it mean?" I asked quietly. Kaiba looked up from his neatly skewered bite of salad.

"You may feel quite empty from time to time. People may try to take your half-soul or give you a half-soul. Don't agree to either—the adding or subtracting of a soul will make you a puppet to someone else's will. Aside from that, it's hardly important."

I pushed a wayward noodle back into the little hill of pasta on my plate. I was too tired to get the true scope of this huge revelation. Questions moved too sluggishly in my mind, and all that came to the surface was, "But…why do I…?"

"Fate, whims of a twisted god, error in the cosmos, a soul mate in a parallel universe—who knows?" Kaiba gestured with his fork. "It doesn't matter anyway. I dealt with it for years. It wasn't a problem."

A quiet knock came again at the door, thankfully releasing me from coming up with a reply to Kaiba's quiet declaration. _I'm not the only one with only half a soul…._

"Come in," said Kaiba. The blonde guard poked his head in the door again. Kaiba glared, and, tone icy, he asked, "Katsuya-san, why aren't you at the shrine? And why do you have my coffee?"

Katsuya smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Kaiba-san. Stopped by the kitchens for a midnight snack. Somebody told me to give this to you on my way out. And I switched shifts with Yoyomi-san."

_If Katsuya switched shifts, then why was he out on the grounds in the first place?_ I wondered.

Katsuya walked into the room and over to Kaiba to hand him the coffee. "Do you…would you like a different shift, Katsuya-san?" Kaiba refused to look at Katsuya, seemingly quite uncomfortable. Katsuya, for his part, bit his lip uneasily.

"Uh…no. No, this one is fine. I'll go back right now." Katsuya set down the second mug of coffee.

Yami walked in the open door silently. I felt the cold shadow around my neck return to his casually opened hand. "Sorry," he said. "I needed a bit of air."

"Not a problem," said Kaiba. "Katsuya-san…you can go."

"Okay—I mean—yes. Kaiba-san." The blonde guard made for the door.

"Uh—Katsuya-san?" He turned around at my question. "Can you show me where my room is first? I'm done with dinner."

Katsuya-san turned to Kaiba, who nodded.

"I'm finished eating, too. Thank you for the meal, Kaiba-san," said Yami.

Kaiba was silent as we left.

_

* * *

Yami's View_

Katsuya led Yugi and me out of the foyer. The foyer consisted of six massive marble columns partially sunken into the wall, accenting several silvery modern pieces of statuary. Soft blue carpet cushioned our steps as we wound around deep blue chairs and glass coffee tables. The hat stand in the corner resembled a tree, with branches hung with jackets and roots of shoes.

The blonde guard continued from the first room we'd entered (the entrance hall). Vaunted with more columns, but containing much less furniture, the entrance hall was understated grandeur incarnate. A wide navy blue carpet sprawled towards a large set of frosted glass doors. Our steps carried us through them.

A large marble staircase, shot through with deep blue threads instead of black, swept up to the second floor. It dominated the room, flanked by two statues of rampant dragons.

I'd stepped outside to feel the cool air and let off a little steam. I would be a very poor guest if I'd ended up blowing up someone or something in Kaiba's house. I felt a little less stressed, but I needed a long stay in oblivion to completely work through this tangled knot of emotions and thoughts in my mind.

Katsuya bypassed the sweeping marble stairs, however, and walked over to the wall. He stood in front of it for a moment, and then a section slid aside to reveal a glass elevator. Yugi and I followed him inside.

The elevator had no buttons. I briefly wondered how it operated. My question was answered when Katsuya said, "Third floor, East Wing," and the elevator hissed into motion.

The ride was quiet and fairly quick, and included a sideways jaunt across the inner façade of the mansion. Through the glass walls of the elevator, one could look out on an expansive courtyard. The gardens were shrouded in darkness, but I could see well anyway. I picked out a couple poorly-hidden guards and an attendant taking a smoking break near a sign that expressly forbid said activity. I resisted the urge to take out my stress on the attendant by incinerating him from thirty yards.

The elevator stopped smoothly. Another section of wall, nondescript except for the plaque proclaiming "East Wing", slid aside to let us back into the mansion.

"You'll find phones in your rooms. Pick it up and you'll be routed to Yasuhito-san, who runs the intercom system for the grounds," said Katsuya, suddenly breaking the silence. "If you need anything, you can ask him."

Yugi and I nodded. A wide hallway extended to our right and left; a little alcove with plush-looking couches confronted us straight ahead. Behind one of the couches, I was not pleased to see a corner of Auru's hastily discarded jacket. _Just wonderful,_ I thought, cynicism and annoyance making me feel destructive again.

Katsuya withdrew a sandwich from an inner pocket of his uniform. "Your rooms are off the Sunrise Alcove, there. Anything else you need now?" Katsuya started unwrapping his sandwich from its paper prison.

"No, I think we're fine for now," I answered.

"Good night, then." Katsuya nodded and stepped back into the elevator. A quiet hiss announced the closing of the wall. A slight _whoosh_ told me Katsuya was gone.

I went into the Sunrise Alcove, apparently named for the morning phenomenon that would be visible through the enormous window facing east. I picked up Auru's jacket with two fingers. It didn't smell of anything embarrassing, but I set it gingerly over the back of a couch so it wouldn't look suspicious.

Yugi walked into the Alcove and looked around. There were four doors, two of which were closed—obviously the unused room and the one housing my hormonal traveling companions. I took a couple steps towards an open door, thankful that the rooms seemed soundproof.

I straightened my shoulders. I couldn't sleep in the same room with Yugi again. Tempting fate once is fairly stupid; twice is just plain asinine.

"...Good night, Yugi." I reached for my door. He seemed a little confused, a bit afraid, and hurt. It made for a wrenching expression on his face. My vampiric side warred with more human instincts I was unaware I possessed. One side told me to drink him dead; the other instructed me to go and comfort him immediately.

"G'night…Yami," answered Yugi. He went into his room quickly, shutting the door with a quiet click.

It took me a moment to shake myself back into motion. For the first time in my considerably long life, I was feeling guilt.

_

* * *

Yugi's View_

With the tangled knot of thoughts in my head, I didn't think I'd be able to get to sleep at all. I couldn't figure out why Yami seemed so distant now, yet sent a shadow to guard me less than an hour ago. I just learned I had half a soul, which was a confusing bombshell in itself. Kaiba was an utter enigma. My mind felt severely overloaded.

I did notice that my room was quite nice. A double bed with bedclothes in varying shades of blue dominated the far wall. Two tall windows were covered by long, dusky-colored blinds. A couple of low armchairs clustered around a glass coffee table supported by a silver curlicue.

Once my socks and pants joined my bandanna on the floor and I had joined my pillow in bed, however, my body realized that it was indeed nearly four o'clock in the morning. Tired eyelids slid shut and my mind slid into a lovely black world of dreamless sleep.

* * *

Softly shining blue numbers on the night-table beside the bed informed me that it was shortly before noon. I blinked a couple of times and sat up. Swiping a hand across my eyes, it took me a couple of minutes of fogged brain action to figure out exactly what I was doing here. When it came to me, I felt uncomfortable inside.

It would be several nights before I felt completely recovered from the almost-all-nighter I had pulled. Now that I felt somewhat rested, though, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I pulled a throw blanket off the end of the bed and wrapped it around my waist. I walked over to my door and tentatively pushed it open.

Nobody was out in the Sunrise Alcove. A patch of sun, however, was warming a couch facing the large window in the eastern wall. Feeling like a cat, I curled up in the sunny patch. A number of leafy green trees waved their branches lazily in a passing breeze. The window looked out across the grounds. Aside from a mown area to the far south, the only landmark in the sea of trees was an obsidian pillar in the north corner of the grounds. Runes I didn't recognize led down to a marble building that looked like a shrine.

I dozed for a little bit. Silence reigned supreme in the East Wing. I was woken from my daze by a door clicking open.

I raised my head to look over the armrest of the couch. Rino, dressed in his t-shirt and a throw blanket around his waist, peered around the door. I was shocked at his bloody state. His lips were bruised and punctured in two places, his shirt was streaked red in several spots, and his neck was ringed with fang marks. He hiked up the throw blanket and I could see a trail of blood running down his ankle.

"Rino…!" He turned and blinked at me.

"Good morning, Yugi-kun." Rino made for the couch, walking slowly.

"Rino—you're—!"

He ran a hand through red curls that were falling over his forehead. "Yeah, I must look pretty bad." He smiled sheepishly.

"What…happened?"

Rino sat down on the couch beside me gingerly. Rearranging his throw blanket, he blushed a bit. "Uh…Auru…."

"Oh. Nevermind," I said hurriedly.

"No, it's okay." Rino scratched his neck carefully. There was a long pause.

"Doesn't it hurt?" I asked.

"Only in the morning," answered Rino. He made several runes in the air, and the couch under us softened. I made a little shocked noise as I sunk further into the cushions.

"How do you do that?"

Rino leaned back into the now-plush couch. "Remember I told you I was in Haven because I preferred to live in my own reality?" I nodded. "Well, I can bend reality to make it what I want. Pain can be pleasure, blue can be red, sweet can be sour…I can make it however I want, so long as I have enough energy."

"So that's how you made us invisible," I said, having received too much shocking information in the past few days to really be surprised at anything as trivial as my new friend being able to change the cosmos as he pleased.

"Yeah. It's harder to bend reality for people besides myself, but it can be done." Rino looked at his fingers and ran a nail under another, loosening what looked like blood.

There was another long pause during which I looked out across the grounds and Rino continued his crusade against his dirty fingernails.

"How did you and Auru get together?" I asked suddenly.

"What?"

I blushed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, I don't mind. I'll tell you if you want. Kind of a long story, but Yami-kun and Auru don't seem to be morning people."

"Okay," I said softly.

Rino considered for a moment. "I had been in Haven for a week and half or so. I hated it," started Rino. I nodded, agreeing. "Auru and I were not roommates originally; we were in rooms next to each other."

I crossed my legs and tucked my blanket around me. Rino continued. "I had gone down to the psychiatric offices in handcuffs. They couldn't get me to my sessions any other way." At this, I felt extremely relieved to be out of Haven. "Once I got to the room, they usually unlocked me. This time, they didn't. They started to ask me lots of questions…I got really upset…I kept trying to make them all vanish…but I couldn't. They wouldn't go away." Rino's voice became softer.

"I ran outside the room—still in handcuffs—and dodged the guard. I was crying and couldn't see very well, so I ended up barging into Auru's room instead of mine. He was…drinking."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, Auru was very surprised." Rino was silent for a moment. "I wanted to die right then." Rino smiled wryly. "I asked him to kill me—to bite me."

"Oh…he couldn't, right?"

"No. Just because I asked him, he couldn't kill me." Rino fidgeted with the edge of his blanket. "Auru gave me the closest thing to death he could, though. He drank me to oblivion. I thought I had died. They took me to the hospital wing of Haven and transfused lots of blood into me. Auru said it was a week before I woke up." Rino looked out the window as a flock of birds flew by.

"I was pretty angry when I woke up. Auru was there. He didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around me and drank me to unconsciousness again."

Rino twisted his neck experimentally, wincing as the punctured skin shifted. "We did that for months. The doctors were absolutely mystified why I suddenly lost so much blood. Auru healed my neck every time, so they had no clue someone else was even visiting me."

Rino looked down at his lap. "I think what made me fall for him at first was that he was always there when I woke up. Nobody had been that dependable for me—they just didn't care or they thought I was too strange."

"I started staying awake for a little while before Auru put me in a coma. Each time I woke up and he was there to see me, I stayed awake longer." Rino smiled. "Finally, I asked him if he wouldn't drink me one time, so that I could get out of the hospital wing. The doctors had no idea what happened to make me recover so fast, but they pronounced my body healthy and sent me back to the boys' dorm."

"I cooperated with the psychiatrists for a while. They saw improvement, and that I was 'saner' when Auru was around. They asked him if he'd mind rooming with me. He said he wouldn't mind at all. I moved all my stuff into his room. That night he drank from me again, but only enough to knock me out until the next morning."

Rino rearranged his blanket. "I wasn't strong enough to walk down to breakfast on my own, so Auru got the job of carrying me around. He didn't mind at all. He'd started to care about me, I guess. I began to lose my reflection—."

"What?" I interrupted suddenly. "Sorry."

"It's fine," said Rino, mellow and still sleepy. "When you fall in love with a vampire, you lose your reflection to them. They begin to see you in the mirror. You can't see yourself any more. It makes for an interesting experience trying to comb your hair," said Rino. "Auru won't stand still while I do it," he laughed.

"Yeah…." I trailed off. Thankfully Rino continued his story, not noticing my awkward thoughts.

"Once I couldn't see myself in the mirror anymore, Auru asked me to be his boyfriend. He can be a jerk sometimes, but I love him a lot." Rino smiled again. "He may bite me, but he's not abusive at all."

Abruptly, there was a loud thump and the sound of thrashing from Rino's room. The door slammed open, revealing a shirtless Auru wearing only the sheet off their bed around his waist. He looked positively panicked. Once he spotted Rino, however, he sighed, apparently relieved.

"Rino…." Auru knelt next to Rino and suddenly became angry. "Rino! Why did you leave!" Auru's hands tangled in Rino's hair and slid down his neck and shoulders, trailing dark healing shadows. "Rino…don't do that again," said Auru softly. "Don't leave me."

"I'm sorry," said Rino. He meant it. Auru wrapped his arms around Rino and buried his face in Rino's chest. Rino smiled at me.

Auru looked up. "I need food. Let's go eat."

"Let's find you some pants first," said Rino.

"I'll go see if Yami's awake." I rose from the couch and opened Yami's door slowly. Behind me, Rino and Auru returned to their room, talking softly and laughing.

"Yami?" A dark form was lying on the bed. I entered the room. It was a little different from mine, so I walked slowly to avoid bumping into any furniture. I was about to say Yami's name again when I noticed a mirror in the far corner of the room.

I stopped and bit my lip. For a moment I stood indecisive, but after my hesitation I walked over to the mirror, carefully avoiding looking into its wide silver eye.

Once I stood in front of it, I looked into its reflective depths. I reached up a hand to touch the surface. My reflection was even more faded and now slightly transparent.

That only served to tangle my thoughts even more.

* * *

Oh…poor Yugi. So confused.

When I thought up my pen name, it originally had nothing to do with the story. But it got worked in anyway. Hope it's a good twist o.

R & R, people…:D


	13. Mirrored Patience

I am so sorry; this is way overdue. I am not abandoning this fic. The end of the school year was more hectic than planned (haha ) and I could only get on this website a couple times. **Pharaoh'sEgyptianArabian**, I tried to e-mail you about the lemon, but the address posted in your profile didn't work and the last half of your e-mail address in your review didn't show up. Could you just put the last half of your e-mail address in your review? Thanks.

* * *

**On With The Fic Already:**

_Last time…_

_Once I stood in front of it, I looked into its reflective depths. I reached up a hand to touch the surface. My reflection was faded and slightly transparent. _

_That only served to tangle my thoughts even more.

* * *

_

**Dead & Dying**

**Thirteenth**

_

* * *

Yugi's View _

I heard no rustling noises of moving sheets before I found Yami beside me. "Yugi?"

"Yami!" I exclaimed, surprised. Said vampire was wearing nothing but boxers and a black undershirt, causing me to blush and squash a perverted train of thought. I slid to the side of the mirror quickly—too quickly to be natural—but Yami was either too sleepy or didn't care. "Good…afternoon," I said awkwardly, glancing at Yami's clock and finding it to be 12:07.

Yami's next question was probably something like, "What are you doing in here?" However, he reached one arm around to his neck and scratched, biting back what he was going to say and replacing it with a slow "Good afternoon, Yugi".

"Auru-kun and Rino-kun are getting ready to go downstairs for breakfast…I thought you'd like to know if you were awake," I filled in. I shifted my weight to my other foot uncomfortably.

"Right," said Yami distractedly. He blinked and straightened. "Thanks for telling me. I'll get dressed. Oh, yes…you probably want…." Yami turned and crossed the room. With his back to me, I remembered a certain change of clothes at Haven during which I'd been 'asleep'. This memory was accompanied by a further reddening of my cheeks. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. Now was not the time for suggestive thoughts.

Yami's jacket was hanging over the back of a chair. He fished in a pocket and pulled. My duffel returned to its usual size as it was removed from its minute travel accommodations.

"Here," said Yami, holding out my duffel for me to take. As I wrapped my fingers around the handle, my hand had no choice but to touch his, brushing thumb and thumb together. His hand was cool, but I felt branded. Heat rose in my face. A flurry of imagined hands and fingers brushed me, and I took an unintentionally loud breath. Yami's fingers slipped away, too quickly for my liking.

"Thanks," I managed. I darted out of the room as Yami dealt with his own suitcase.

Once in my room, door safely closed, I leaned against the wall. Sliding down to the floor, I let my duffel drop and put my head between my knees. _Yami…Kami-sama, what am I supposed to do?_ _I'm losing my reflection to him and he doesn't seem to notice! Is the only way to get him to notice me—to touch me—by offering my blood and tempting him?_

I shook myself and picked up my duffel, dumping it on my bed and yanking the zipper open. I changed into a fresh pair of indigo jeans and a light blue long-sleeve shirt. I did a cursory brushing of my teeth and splashed my face with water. The bathroom adjoining my room was floored in blue marble and tiled in white. The expansive mirror kept needling at me with my faded reflection, but I steeled myself against it and ignored the stupid thing.

I returned to the Sunrise Alcove to find Auru, sporting black jeans and loose, striped shirt. Rino, trapped bridal-style in Auru's arms, was wearing a cream turtleneck and sage green pants. They were smiling at each other, and a small curl of jealousy awoke in my stomach.

Yami came into the Sunrise Alcove dressed in deep blue jeans and a scarlet, button-up shirt that matched the edges of his spiked hair. "Do we know where we're going?" Yami glanced at the elevator.

"No. I'll ask," said Rino, attempting to squirm out of Auru's hold.

"No, you won't, 'cause I'm not letting go," responded Auru.

Yami looked up at the ceiling, containing his exasperation. "_I_ will ask." He returned to his room and I heard the click of a phone being picked up.

I moved to the window, since Auru and Rino seemed quite absorbed in one another. Over on the mown area to the south, which was apparently a private golf course, I saw a few people and a golf cart. One of them swung at a ball enthusiastically. A small splash in a nearby lake a split second later indicated that ball's demise.

"Kaiba wants to talk with us," said Yami, coming back out of his room. "Let's go."

"Does that mean breakfast is delayed?" Auru asked. Yami, walking toward the elevator, didn't answer.

"Lunch, love. It's past noon," Rino informed Auru.

Auru grinned suddenly. "Oops. I suppose that would be my bad," he said suggestively.

"Auru!" Rino blushed. "Stop it."

The wall slid away from the elevator doors. A few moments later, a little ding informed us that the elevator had arrived. We shuffled in. "Kaiba's Office, North Tower," announced Yami.

The elevator doors whooshed shut and the glass box whisked us away. It was sunny outside in the courtyard. I realized how lucky I was that it hadn't rained the past few days. Flying in the rain would have been terrible.

We were silent in the elevator. The ride was not very long, however, and soon an unassuming ding announced the end of our journey. The elevator doors slid open, revealing the back of a wall. A plaque reading "North Tower" had been mounted on the wall, which also slid open.

A wide sea of navy blue carpet piled inches deep was revealed. Islands of winged armchairs and coffee tables dotted the soft expanse. Frosted glass floor-to-ceiling windows lined the circular room. A strong column, made of the same marble used throughout the mansion, supported a staircase spiraling up to the next floor. And that was just the foyer.

We moved out of the elevator. A couple of unsure glances were exchanged.

"Kaiba-san will see you now. Please move upstairs," said a pleasant, young voice, emanating from well-hidden speakers. I remembered the child's voice from the mansion's entrance. This voice sounded the same.

Following instructions, we crossed the field of navy blue and climbed the stairs. Auru had to set Rino down. Rino thought he was off the hook, but Auru seized him around the waist and lifted him that way instead. Rino made a surprised noise, but flopped over Auru's shoulder, resigned to being carried nearly everywhere. Since I was behind Auru, the tallest, I could see Rino roll his eyes. I gave him a wry smile and he smiled back.

On the next floor, there was a small part of the circle that had been sectioned off. A pair of dominating double doors flanked by a set of dragons separated us from Kaiba's office.

Yami gave Auru a pointed look. Auru gave in and set Rino down. Rino mouthed a discreet "thank you" to Yami, who nodded slightly and knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Kaiba. Yami strode in, followed by Auru, Rino, and me.

Kaiba's office, if nothing else, proved his business skill and resulting wealth. The same navy blue pile coated the floor, one-way floor-to-ceiling windows let in the afternoon sunlight, and slightly curved bookshelves held countless volumes. He was seated at a desk in the middle of the room, reclining slightly in an ergonomic black chair. A sleek laptop and a practically flat cell phone lay in front of him. His pistol from last night also rested on his desk, fully loaded and ready to fire, in close reach of Kaiba's hand. It served as a quiet, but in-your-face reminder that we weren't guests. We were trespassers turned prisoners, only here to serve our time.

A couple of chairs clustered attentively around Kaiba's desk. We were invited to sit down, in Kaiba's clipped, chilly tone. Dressed in a black turtleneck with silver threads in the cuffs and matching pants, the CEO cut a highly professional appearance.

Kaiba started right into the subject, all chit-chat and wow-what-nice-weather-we're-having discussion bypassed. "I was going to perform the enchantment this afternoon, but considering all of you are short on sleep and what I'm trying to unlock is magically unstable, we are going to wait until tomorrow."

There wasn't any argument when Kaiba said, "You _will_ stay the night. You can eat whenever you want. Call Yasuhito-san; he can give you choices and reroute you to room service."

_Kaiba has _room service_ in his own _house _How many people does he employ! _That curl of jealousy that had awoken this morning wriggled more insistently.

"…there are many things to do here," Kaiba was saying. "Most of the doors will open for you and you can wander the grounds, but please stay out of the northern corner."

Yami nodded for all of us.

Kaiba picked up a pen absentmindedly. "I do need someone to help me make a couple potions for the enchantment—."

Auru yelped suddenly, having just been brought out of dreamland by a sharp poke from Rino. "Okay okay okay! I'll do it."

"That's it, then," said Kaiba, slowly swinging his desk chair to the side.

"One question," said Yami. "Do you know of anyone I can get a binding spell from?"

Kaiba gave him a sidelong look. "For the necromancer?"

"Yes," said Yami, avoiding my surprised glance. Kaiba, however, was now looking right at me, locking my eyes with his icy blue stare. It was obvious he had figured out why Bakura was after me and why Yami wanted a binding spell.

"…Yes. I know where you can get a binding spell." Kaiba broke off the eye contact. "You'll not like it much."

"Just tell me how to get it," said Yami curtly.

"In the mountains to the east, there is a pair of soul-bonded men. They specialize in various Egyptian charms, including complex binding ones. They'll want money for it, but I'm sure that's not an…issue," finished Kaiba, with a pointed look with lots of hidden meaning directed at Yami.

"No. It is not," said Yami, managing a voice just as icy as Kaiba's.

"The roof of their house is red. It's about two hours away, as the…'crow' flies." Kaiba steepled his hands.

"Thank you," said Yami, finality in his voice. "We'll rest today and help you tomorrow."

"Good," replied Kaiba. He glanced at me. "Mouto-san, you can sleep in tomorrow." It should've sounded gracious. I should've felt happy, not unwanted and jealous. All I felt, though, was a clear, harsh dismissal.

_

* * *

Yami's View _

"Kaiba-san, may I?" I gestured to one of his windows. He flicked a switch on his desk. The window slid open.

"Go ahead," he allowed. I walked to the window and looked out and down. The tower was steep; we were at least two hundred feet in the air. I backed up into Kaiba's office.

"Yami-kun, wait a second." Rino scrawled a long sequence of runes in midair. He caught a necklace as it fell into existence. "Here," he said, tossing me the necklace. "Invisibility for you. Shadow-link Auru when you start back because I'll have to renew the charm."

"Thanks. I will. I'll be back in a couple hours, you two. Yugi…." I didn't have any words that seemed adequate. What could I tell him?

Instead, I slipped a shadow around his shoulders and catapulted out of the window.

I lost myself in the adrenaline rush of freefall for two seconds. My exhilaration continued as I summoned my shadowed wings and yanked myself upward. Indulging in several high-speed spirals, I shot off towards the eastern mountains, feeling like I was leaving all my problems behind in the halls of Kaiba's mansion. I settled Rino's necklace around my neck, feeling a slight prickle as the enchantment took effect.

_

* * *

Yugi's View _

I watched Yami speed away, rocketing through the sky in crazy loops. I knew he was going to get something helpful, but I felt abandoned. Also, I felt useless. A burden, that's what I was. I couldn't do magic. Yami couldn't fly like that carrying me. He wouldn't even be _going_ anywhere if it wasn't for me.

Auru got up and gave Rino a quick kiss. That curl of jealousy towards Rino was becoming harder to quash. I made to follow Rino out of Kaiba's office. The lucky, oblivious redhead bounced down the stairs. Anger and a feeling of helplessness battled for dominance in my mind and heart.

I made to go down the stairs, but Auru grabbed my shoulder on the landing. He let the door to Kaiba's office close before he said anything, but the look in his eyes was more serious than I thought it possible for him to be. I didn't so much as twitch.

Auru looked down and to the side and then took a deep breath. "Vampires have no self-control, Yugi-kun. None. Zero. They've got to learn it, every bit. Yami-kun's confused right now. He's lived for thousands of years, Yugi-kun, and he's never had to go without anything he wanted. Money, food, clothes, sex, willing victims—anything. Yami-kun was even a king once—hundreds of people were at his beck and call. Now, he has to hold back. Add to that the fact that he doesn't know whether to kill you or hug you—or both, and you can understand why he's confused. Believe me—I went through the same thing with Rino."

Auru paused and bit his lip. His voice was nearly a whisper when I heard it again.

"I nearly raped him," he said, looking down at the floor. One hand waved listlessly in the direction of the stairs, indicating Rino. "I almost did it…several times. Even though I love him so much…I nearly violated him. I never did…but I still…." Auru stopped.

"Just…don't tempt Yami. Don't do it. He'll come to you. Give him a little time to sort out what's in his head and he will, I promise."

I nodded slowly. "He'll look in a mirror one of these days and see your face. Most of the time, vampires just forget about mirrors—they're like those little paper umbrellas in Hawaiian drinks, I guess—they're there, but not usually important, unless they stab you in the eye." Auru laughed and I managed a smile. He patted my shoulder and let go. "Yami-kun will get with the program. Trust me."

Leaving me standing, quite confused, at the top of the stairs, Auru wandered back into Kaiba's office with his hands in his pockets. It was then I realized that that night at the restaurant, when Yami was drinking from me, had gotten my shirt open, and was headed south….

Somehow, Auru had known.

Auru had remembered what he had done, completely out of the blue, and had taken action to stop his friends from doing something that would seriously hurt their future.

My respect for Auru, who was not the sex-crazed simpleton he seemed, went up several notches.

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Read & review…purple button…clickability! o 


	14. Revenge and a Dangerous Game

Oh, a long chapter for everybody! (dances happily) The plot is back on track, I'm updating, and it's all pretty good! Enjoy!

**Note**: Marik is the hikari and Malik is the yami, okay? Okay. And sanbusa is a Middle Eastern dessert, apparently.

**

* * *

On With The Fic Already: **

_Last time…_

_Somehow, Auru had known. _

_Auru had remembered what he had done, completely out of the blue, and had taken action to stop his friends from doing something that would seriously hurt their future. _

_My respect for Auru, who was not the sex-crazed simpleton he seemed,_ _went up several notches. _

**

* * *

Dead & Dying **

**Fourteenth**

_

* * *

Yami's View _

I pushed for speed, hurtling through the sky. Kaiba's mansion was on the edge of a city, so it wasn't long before the only thing spread out below me was forested hills. The hills gave way to mountains, and I started looking for a red roof.

My jacket snapped in the wind as I turned west. The landscape was rockier now, and less friendly. I sniffed a rising updraft—sulfur and water. There must be a hot springs nearby. I followed the scent a ways, figuring the only reason someone would choose to live up in the mountainous terrain would be a hot spring.

Sure enough, a red roof came into view around a sand-colored mountain peak. Steam rose from a set of pools in a rocky enclosure. I caught another warm updraft and rose about a hundred feet, then dropped like a stone.

Freefall's exhilaration flooded adrenaline through me. I snapped out my darkened wings and leveled out, shooting over the red-roofed house and circling back.

I felt Rino's invisibility charm around my neck, still active. Flying low to the ground, I inspected the house more closely. It was a small, one-story affair, made with stone that looked like it had come from the surrounding area. The red roof was made of rounded clay tiles. The glass windows were covered with rice-paper screens. It would have looked very quaint, except for the satellite antenna bristling on the rooftop. The dish was huge, and looked like it could pick up stations from the other side of the world.

The scent of human inhabitants hovered lightly over the house and nearby hot springs. Coasting over the sulfuric pools, I dropped down lightly on the northeastern side of the hot springs, using the monolithic stones to block my landing from view. Even though I was invisible, I still displaced air and made footprints. People freak out when skid marks suddenly appear in the ground.

I let my wings evaporate, my shadows chattering to me a bit. Still invisible, I walked around the hot springs. The scent of sulfur was masking everything else. Looking around carefully, I took in the front of the house before me, the steaming pools to my right, and the beginning of the mountain's forest on my left and behind me. The ground between me and the house was sandy, with small pebbles.

I untied Rino's necklace, feeling the invisibility leave me. Sneaking up on the house would be foolish, since I was here on a peaceful mission. I was barefoot, having left my boots at Kaiba's mansion. That was a little suspicious, so I conjured a basic pair of hiking shoes.

Pebbles crunched beneath my feet as I walked confidently up to the house. Voices came through the slightly open door.

A large slab of sandstone made up the porch. I stepped up to it, and the door opened for me.

The Eye of Horus stared back at me from the door.

The tiniest shiver of fear ran through me. Then I squared my shoulders. Panicking was dumb. No one was old enough to remember my reign in Egypt. No one.

_

* * *

Yugi's View _

Leaving Kaiba's office, I walked down the stairs and across the calm sea of navy blue carpet. The elevator opened for me. I stepped inside, and the doors closed with a small puff of air.

_What should I do?_

I didn't know. I was waiting for Yami. Just waiting.

"Sir? Where would you like to go?" The small boy's voice again.

"Who are you?" I asked, curious.

"I am MOKI, the Mansion Operator/Keeper Intelligence. I am an artificially intelligent being designed by Kaiba-san. I interact with the people here. One of my jobs is to manage the elevator system."

"Could you take me to—to a balcony or something? Somewhere not a lot of people go?"

"Sure." The elevator smoothly rolled into motion. "The South Rooftop is one of my favorite places." I leaned against the glass wall and checked my watch—1:04.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a dimly lit set of stairs. "Will you need anything else?" MOKI asked.

"…no. Not right now. But thanks," I replied.

"It's my pleasure." The elevator doors slid shut, and the glass box swooshed away. I mounted the stairs, which seemed dusty and unused. That was odd; everything else in Kaiba's mansion was impeccable.

A trapdoor opened slowly as I reached the top of the stairs. Climbing out of it, I was presented with an uninterrupted view of the deep blue sky, dotted with puffy clouds.

The South Rooftop, upon inspection, had probably been a wonderful place to be at one time. It was rectangular, with flower beds running from end to end and lining the perimeter. A fountain of white marble stood in the middle of it all. A couple benches ringed the fountain. The spaces between the flower beds were filled with grass.

But the flower beds contained only dead stalks, and the grass was all yellowed and wilted. The fountain was clogged with brown leaves and was broken, parts of the stone broken off and cracked. The benches were worn, but not from frequent use. Rain and wind had pounded their sturdy construction into submission. One lay in pieces on the ground.

I sat in the middle of it all, my back resting against the fountain, invisible from the ground and the trapdoor leading up here. I hugged myself, a chill breeze catching the cuffs of my sleeves and pant legs.

/_ee!_/

I'd completely forgotten about the shadow Yami gave me. Now curled up in my pocket, it had apparently fallen asleep. It shifted and gave a contented noise, returning to its dreams.

Another breeze flew through and I shivered again. The South Rooftop was colder than I thought it would be.

"Would you like me to get someone to bring you a blanket?"

I was startled. MOKI's voice seemed to come from right beside me—apparently there were speakers hidden all over the mansion. "No, thanks, MOKI. I'm all right. I'd really rather be alone right now."

"Okay…." The voice was followed by a pause and a short click. I hugged myself a little tighter.

It was creepy how _human_ MOKI seemed to be.

_

* * *

Auru's View _

"We'll be making three measures of barrier potion, six of magical grounding potion, and four of healing oil," said Kaiba, holstering his handgun and standing up. "Let's go."

I walked back out the door to Kaiba's office and jogged down the stairs. Kaiba followed more sedately, but with longer strides. We reached the elevator and waited for it to return.

"So where're we going?" I stuck my hands in my pockets.

"The alchemy lab," replied Kaiba, as if that was obvious. I was hoping for something a little more descriptive, but I shut my mouth. I had something that would make Kaiba's little iceberg melt like ice cream in an oven.

We stood in silence until the elevator dinged. Hydraulics managed the doors and we stepped inside. The doors hissed shut.

"Alchemist's Hall," said Kaiba. The elevator whisked us away, plunging down from the height of the North Tower and into a well-hidden tunnel.

"No parading your alchemical powers?" I asked.

"What do you think?" Kaiba's words filled with sarcasm. "I'm sure all your associates know _your_ preferred beverage."

"Touché," I acknowledged amiably. Kaiba was a tough icicle to crack. I didn't like how Kaiba had almost killed us and then turned around and started using us. It bothered me. So I was going to bother Kaiba.

A little voice that strongly resembled Rino told me that I was taking unnecessary risks again. _Come on…it's just a little fun_.

The elevator changed directions abruptly, moving east. It was pitch dark inside the tunnel, except for the glow of Kaiba's digital watch.

The elevator dinged, but didn't open. "Please identify yourself."

"Kaiba Seto." Kaiba enunciated clearly. "And guest."

"What is blue?"

"My brother's eyes," answered Kaiba. The elevator doors slid open.

"What was that all about?"

"Depending on what answer I give, you will be annihilated on the spot, captured and removed for dealing with later, or admitted," Kaiba informed me.

"I got the message—I won't come back and try to break in," I joked. Kaiba remained glacial.

Kaiba clapped once, and the darkened room before us lit up. Torches flared to life. The walls were interrupted by columns, on which the torches were mounted. Every other bit of wall space was covered by countless shelves of carefully contained ingredients. Glass bottles, antique boxes, stoppered vials, and wax-sealed jars were arranged in neat rows.

"Whoa. Quite the collector, aren't you?"

"My collection is unrivaled in the modern world," said Kaiba curtly. "Wash your hands." He pointed to a sink on a counter island. The faucet hung down from the ceiling. I walked over to it and picked up the soap, an herbal mix. I washed thoroughly, taking the time to observe the hall. The sink was at one end of the rectangular room, which was encased in heavy sandstone blocks. The only door was that of the elevator. A large area in the middle was left clear, for drawing charm circles and runes. Several worktables with organized equipment were the only furniture, except for a couple stools in the corner.

"Pretty low-tech for the president of gaming company, isn't it?"

"The strength of my alchemical spells would disrupt any technology down here, with disastrous results," said Kaiba patronizingly, tossing his watch in a box labeled "Technology". I felt another shield on the box.

"I know that," I said. "Just kidding around."

"Well, don't," Kaiba replied, opening a drawer and unfolding a white, rune-covered smock. He slipped it over his head and tossed another to me. Starting a conversation with Kaiba seemed about as easy as moving an elephant.

"Ingredients for a barrier potion," Kaiba said, snapping his fingers. Sparks flared from his fingers and several jars and boxes flew onto the counter before him, one of them narrowly missing my nose.

"Chop about a cup of those," instructed Kaiba, handing me a knife and a box. He went to another worktable. "Cauldron," he said, and snapped his fingers again, sparking just the same way. The worktable shifted, boards moving and reattaching themselves, and revealed a cauldron, which hooked itself above a fiery pit in the floor.

"Smoke vent." Kaiba snapped his fingers at the ceiling, which didn't react. "I said _smoke vent_," Kaiba ground out, with another snap of his fingers. The ceiling grudgingly opened a vent and I contained a snort of laughter.

Kaiba put things in the cauldron one by one, keeping me busy chopping, stirring, unsealing, and carrying. The three measures of barrier potion, which we would use tomorrow to make the double-circle shields, were finished quickly. I put them in charmed glass flasks while Kaiba cleaned out the cauldron with a snap of his fingers and poured a jug of water into it for the next batch of potion, the six measures of magical grounding potion.

"Ingredients for a magical grounding potion," said Kaiba, snapping and sparking. Several glass jars and a wooden box flew towards me, skidding onto the table.

"Chop up the—."

"—root of mandrake and mix it with the cranen juice, yeah, yeah, I know."

Kaiba glared at me, but didn't say anything. He snapped his fingers and the fire flared. I was pretty good at alchemy and I knew it. Kaiba knew it too. That's one point for me, making the score even. I smirked to myself. How I loved to play this game. It didn't matter who I played with, but Kaiba was a tough—and therefore fun—opponent.

"So, Kaiba." I paused in my rapid chopping to look at said CEO. He glanced at me noncommittally. I continued. "Tell me about Katsuya-san."

Kaiba was so hard to read, but I knew I'd struck gold when his left hand twitched ever so slightly.

"Katsuya-san?" Kaiba responded, voice masking whatever he felt exceptionally well. "What about him?"

"Anything," I said casually.

"He is a security guard for my grounds," returned Kaiba, stirring the new mix with a long silver rod.

"How long has he worked for you?"

There was pause, as if Kaiba was calculating it, but it seemed a little fake. "About five years."

"That's a long time to be a security guard," I commented conversationally, swirling the bottle of cranen juice around.

"Katsuya-san has not asked to be promoted." Kaiba bounced the ball back to me.

"Kind of cold not to promote him," I said, keeping it casual. I combined the mandrake root and the cranen juice into one glass jar. It let out a puff of yellowish smoke, which I waved away. "Well, unless he's been slacking," I continued carefully.

Oh, what a difficult ball to catch that was. Kaiba's face still held its unreadable mask, but I could see a few cracks. "He has not been slacking," Kaiba said curtly.

"Well, I didn't think so," I returned, walking over to the cauldron. "I mean, he seemed pretty darn protective of you last night at dinner. Helpful, loyal..." I let that hang and poured the glass jar's contents into the steaming cauldron. The fire's light flickered irregularly on Kaiba's face.

Kaiba didn't respond. "Sigil water," he said, snapping his fingers in a businesslike manner. That's right, Kaiba, go back to where you're safe, to where you know how to act. I went along with it briefly, catching the sigil water and dumping it into the cauldron. The grounding potion hissed and spat, turning a translucent orange color.

Wordlessly, Kaiba snapped his fingers again, the cauldron pouring its contents into four jars by itself. A spray of normal water cleansed the inside of the cauldron, and it was ready for the last mix.

"Ingredients for healing oil." Kaiba snapped his fingers, sparks flew, and the various jars and boxes slid onto my table without many in-flight hazards, like hitting my head.

"Married? Single? Dating?" I opened a box of a rather pungent herb and took my knife to it.

"Single," said Kaiba. "And planning to stay that way for quite some time."

"Really." That wasn't really an answer, but it conveyed the not-quite-believability of Kaiba's statement.

I finished chopping and shook out the jar of herbs into Kaiba's cauldron. "C'mon. Isn't there a _special someone_?"

"I happen to function much better alone," retorted Kaiba coolly.

"Function, maybe, but enjoy yourself? I don't think so." I poured another two vials together, and dumped the mix into Kaiba's cauldron. He was adding other ingredients, including a rather volatile set of crystallized minerals. The cauldron spat and hissed.

"Enjoyment is certainly not my priority right now," Kaiba said, with a finality I didn't agree with. He snapped his fingers and the cauldron emptied its contents into another four jars.

"Hey, I didn't say it should be," I said, putting up my hands in mock surrender. "I was just wondering if you knew what this was," I finished, playing my trump card.

I drew out a black book from one of the larger cargo pockets in my pants. I held it between my fingers innocently.

Kaiba's eyes instantly narrowed. "Where did you get that?" He seethed.

"Oh, I picked it up when Katsuya-san _dropped _it." Of course Katsuya-san hadn't dropped it, but I was already skating on thin ice as it was.

Kaiba exercised his intimidation rights, being taller than I was and on his home ground. Standing over me, he held out his hand, demanding the book.

"Hey, hey, hey! No violence now; I just thought you might want to know what's in it."

"That's obviously his _diary_, you bastard." Kaiba's words lowered the temperature in the room by at least ten degrees.

"Well," I said, casualness returning to my posture and voice, "it does involve you quite a bit."

"I am his employer; of course he writes about me," said Kaiba frigidly. There was a touch of curiosity and uncertainty in his voice, though.

I ran a hand through my black curls lazily. I was now winning this game. "No…he doesn't write about you _that_ way." I flipped through the pages. "In fact…it's pretty…mmm…_graphic_ what Katsuya-san wrote."

I held the diary loosely in my hand. "Well, I've been enough of a bastard, haven't I? I'll go return this to him," I said, making towards the elevator doors. They opened.

"No!" Kaiba snatched the black book away from me. "_I_ will return it. Get out."

"Okay, okay! Chill, man. I'm going." I slipped off my white smock and tossed it back to Kaiba.

"Take him back to his room," said Kaiba coldly, addressing the elevator. It dinged and I meekly stepped inside. The doors whooshed closed and the elevator swung into motion.

In the dark, I grinned. Really, there were no losers in this game. Ahhh…how I loved playing matchmaker.

_

* * *

Yami's View _

I walked through the door of the red-roofed house. The entry hall was made of the same sandy stone as the outside, with hooks embedded in the wall. Several fluffy white towels, some damp, hung from them. Two coats hung on the opposite wall, and an antique map of the world framed in a reddish wood hung next to them. On the far wall, next to another open door, was a mirror.

"Hello?"

A young man, taller than me, stepped through the open door into the entrance hall. His light blond hair was spiked up at odd angles. His eyes were lavender purple. He was wearing khaki cargo pants, a lilac top, and a dark purple apron. Carrying a spatula and a bowl of something that smelled like chocolate and sugar, he had apparently just come from the kitchen. He was barefoot and had very tanned skin. He looked a lot like someone I'd known a long time ago, but whom I couldn't quite place.

"Hello," I answered. "The door opened for me—."

"What's going on, Marik?" Another voice came from deeper in the house, getting closer.

"We've got a guest!" Marik said happily. Apparently, my intrusion wasn't a big deal. "Come in, come in," continued Marik. "I'll go finish making the sanbusa; they take about half an hour to bake and then you can have some!" He dashed away, back to the kitchen, accidentally banging the door as he went.

"Thanks," I said, moving towards the door that Marik disappeared through.

Footsteps padded towards me. "Marik, I told you not to—." Suddenly my path was blocked by another person.

He was taller than me by at least half a foot, with tanned skin and spiky blond hair. A sleeveless, deep purple turtleneck and another pair of khaki cargo pants clothed him. He stopped mid-sentence upon seeing me, and his dark purple eyes narrowed to slits.

_He's just mad because I'm in his house, right? He doesn't remember me. Of course not. That would be just—_

"Pharaoh." It came out a low hiss, filled with barely-controlled anger. "How _nice_ of you to drop by."

"Malik," I said, managing to hide my surprise.

"So. The fallen king is free once more," he spat. "Sucked all the easy, mentally-retarded victims dry? Thirsty again?"

"You need to eat to live," I said curtly. "I need to drink. Five thousand years is a long time to hold a grudge, Malik."

"I wouldn't call it a grudge." Malik took a step towards me. "I'd call it…revenge."

"Malik—."

"Trapped underground, unseen and unheard, for generations. Caring for your tomb, my ass. I was your prey!" Malik took another step forward. "Living in absolute isolation—until _you_ got thirsty. Only your most trusted priests and advisors knew—only they knew where you went at night. Riding out across the sands of the desert cradling Cairo, hiding from Ra's face like a coward. The people hailed you as the Son of Ra! What fools!" Malik's fists clenched, he stepped forward once more. I stood my ground.

"You hid from the sun; you came at night; you came to play a twisted game of cat and mouse, where the cat always won! You caught me and sunk your filthy fangs into my neck, draining me into unconsciousness, ignoring the screams, selfish need the first thing on your mind!"

"Malik, I—."

"Shut up, _Pharaoh_. It's payback time." Malik lunged towards me, feral anger in his eyes and a sharpened dagger in his hand.

* * *

O.o Well. Doesn't _that_ create problems... 

(snaps pointers against computer screen) This is the purple button and everybody needs to click it? Right? Right. Okay. XD


	15. Shocking, Isn't It?

300+ reviews! O.O Yay! (dances happily)

As to the switching of view points, some readers seem to like it and others don't. I will try to make the sections longer. Also, to the smut-hungry, I apologize. I didn't think it would take this long to develop the Yami/Yugi relationship. I've had mixed comments on this—some reviewers are glad that Yami and Yugi aren't madly lemonizing each other two seconds after meeting/confessing their love/kissing/etc., others are quite ready for the lemon. So, the best of both worlds—smexy fluff. Here it is.

* * *

**On With The Fic Already:**

_Last time…_

"_Malik, I—."_

"_Shut up, _Pharaoh_. It's payback time." Malik lunged towards me, feral anger in his eyes and a sharpened dagger in his hand. _

**

* * *

Dead & Dying **

**Fifteenth**

_

* * *

Kaiba's View _

_Damn._

I leaned back in my chair a little more. I was back in my office, safe from intruders and interruptions. An unassuming black book lay in the middle of my desk, hardly touched.

I set my hand on the edge of my desk. _No harm in that_. _Nope_. The book looked like it had a coffee stain on one corner. The corners were all dented. There was part of a discolored ring where a cold drink had been set down partially on top of the book.

_It wouldn't do any harm to just look at the first page, right?_

I reached towards the black book and touched the cover. Now that it wasn't important to get it away from that idiot Auru, touching the book was a little weird. _This _is_ Katsuya's diary…._

_It's not as if anything he wrote could be important_, I scoffed. It strengthened my resolve, and I flipped open the cover.

Well, that wasn't too bad. The two pages at the beginning were blank, as was usual—nothing terribly surprising or invasive. I flipped the page.

I was shocked by what I saw. It was a drawing of my face, first of all, which was shocking enough in itself. What surprised me the most, though, was the quality. I could have used that drawing as a _mirror_. The colors, the shape, the expression—all were familiar.

With slightly less trepidation I turned to the next page. That was a huge, enormous, colossal mistake.

It was another picture of me. I was sitting in my limousine, in the back as always, talking on my cell phone.

I was also very naked.

* * *

_Rino's View_

I took a drink of orange juice and set my glass down. The clock on the end table said it was 1:47. I was sitting in the Sunrise Alcove, eating a late lunch. The maids of the Kaiba household had been quite helpful—actually, a bit over-helpful, as I now had enough food to satisfy Auru's stomach as well as my own.

Reclining on the recently-softened light blue couch, facing the large window, I was watching the minimal activity across the grounds. The Sunrise Alcove, while still fitting with the understated blue elegance theme of the entire mansion's interior décor, was in lighter, more cheerful colors. I thought of Auru and smiled.

Across my lap was a silver tray with lots of food on it. I took another drink of orange juice and took a fork in hand. It was important for me, as the lover of a vampire, to be healthy, since Auru and I basically shared all the blood I produced. Auru didn't drink from me very often, because blood loss can be quite serious, but it was transferred often enough to keep him happy and me healthy. And it was usually transferred in a most…_enjoyable_ way.

My face reddened at the memories. _My Kami-sama. Auru's rubbing off on me. _

_Don't you mean 'getting off'?_

_Augh!_

"Suobanshu Rino-san, isn't it?"

I nearly dropped my glass. "What! Oh. Yes, that's me."

The blond guard from yesterday—well, rather early this morning—came up behind me and leaned against the couch, a worried expression on his face.

"Sorry about that. I was just wondering…um…have you seen a black book—about this big—lying around anywhere?"

"A black book?" I repeated.

"Yeah," said Katsuya, still looking intensely nervous.

"Is it very important to you?"

"Uh, yeah." Katsuya's expression drifted towards the confused.

I closed my eyes briefly and scanned the mansion's reality. I felt a small room doused in Katsuya's aura, and another, smaller object similarly attached to the blond guard. However, that object, which I assumed to be the book, was nearly drowned out by the overwhelmingly powerful aura of the president of Kaiba Corp.

"Kaiba-san has it," I told Katsuya, hoping the pause for my finding the book hadn't been awkwardly long.

Upon hearing my answer, though, all the color drained from Katsuya's face. "Kaiba has it?" He repeated faintly.

"Yeah," I said, a little confused now.

"Oh shit," breathed Katsuya. He turned around and bolted for the door.

* * *

_Yami's View_

Malik's dagger screeched against the stone not an inch away from my shoulder.

"Running away, now? That's fine…the predator has become the prey," said Malik malevolently. I felt my shadows on the edge of this dimension, ready for my call. I inched closer to the door, hoping to move the brewing conflict out into the open, where I would have the advantage of flight.

Malik wrapped his hand around his dagger more firmly. "Leaving so soon?" His tone was mocking, and the part of my mind not eclipsed by apprehension got annoyed. That annoyance died quickly, as Malik lunged for my throat again. I leapt around him and summoned a fistful of shadows, turning them into blades and throwing them at Malik's exposed neck. He dodged too slowly and my blades sliced into his neck, unfortunately not very deep. I scowled and summoned another set of shadows—

"Don't you dare—!" Malik fisted his empty hand and conjured hot fire around it. It shot towards me and I raised a shield, only to have the fire shoot right through it. I dodged at the last second, only to trip over something and smash into the wall. Malik laughed as I tried to get up quickly and failed.

_Dammit! What's wrong? Some magic—?_

I tried to negate the spell, to no avail. Malik raised his fisted hand and my ankles, now wrapped in fire and not under my control, jerked towards the ceiling as though magnetized.

"Being a vampire hunter for five thousand years…well, you learn a few…tricks," said Malik, sneering. The anger boiling within me rose. I let him talk, waiting for a better opportunity to hit him with a million dark shadows. I tensed—.

"Don't even try it, vampire. As much as I'd like to see the locking enchantment squeeze the life out of you—which it will, if you try any magic—it tends to make a bloody, gory mess. And I don't feel like splattering the entrance hall with your insides. So I'll make it clean—but far from painless," Malik said. His eyes had no mercy in them. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me beg. He sheathed his dagger and his other hand burst into flames.

I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out. Blisteringly hot fire had awoken in my middle, searing me from the inside out. Now I renewed my attack, shadows bursting into this dimension irregularly and trying to get at Malik and the fiery cords that bound my ankles, despite his warning. A wall of fire whooshed into existence between us and panic kept flooding through me.

"Malik, I can't find the blue plat—." Marik walked through the kitchen door and stopped abruptly. "Malik! What are you doing!"

"It's a disgusting vampire, and I'm killing it."

"Malik, you idiot! Look in the mirror, for Ra's sake! He's reflecting!"

"What?" Malik looked in the mirror, letting his torturous fire cease its progress. The mirror was across the room on the far wall; I was dangling upside-down in the center of the room. I hadn't noticed the small oval before, as it was half hidden by the kitchen door. Malik and I were both rather preoccupied with killing each other, so it wasn't surprising that he hadn't paid attention to it either.

"We agreed—if it has a reflection we don't kill it," said Marik, with a rather put-out expression on his face. Still strung up by my ankles, I looked more closely at the mirror as well.

_Yugi!_ I'm sure my expression was one of absolute shock. _That means—!_

"Well, well, well," said Malik, bringing me out of my surprised train of thought. "A soul-bonded vampire, are you?"

I was severely confused and in pain, and I was too quiet for too long. "Answer the question!" Malik raised his hand to strike.

"Yes!" I said quickly. "I am."

There was a long, pregnant pause. _I have Yugi's reflection now…._

Marik took a little breath and said softly, "Malik, don't do it. He's not a danger to anyone anymore." He moved closer to Malik.

It was quiet for another long, long moment. Then Malik's fist rose ever so slightly, and opened. I collapsed onto the floor.

Malik turned his back to me. "Why'd you come here anyway?"

"…I—I need a binding spell. A necromancer is after my bonded one's soul."

Malik snapped his fingers reluctantly, and an ornately carved box fell into his open hand, summoned from another room. He tossed it to me, and it skidded on the floor. I reached for it and touched it.

Malik gave Marik a little push back towards the kitchen, indicating that the show was over.

"Why?" I asked suddenly.

Malik stopped. "Not for you. For the one who somehow loves you."

"Thank you," I said softly. "And…I am sorry."

Malik nodded, just a little bit. Then the two soul-bonded men walked back into the kitchen and shut the door. I sat splayed on the floor for a moment.

"Did you really forgive him?" I could still hear Marik and Malik talking softly through the door.

"Well…it's because of that bastard that I found you. I would never have become a vampire hunter if not for him. And then, of course, I rescued you because of that," said Malik. "I just…didn't remember that." There was soft laughter. What a weird pair. _Well…I'm not one to say anything about that_.

Very quietly, I took the wooden box in hand and got up. I padded outside onto the porch. Slipping the box into my pocket, I summoned my shadowed wings and shot into the darkening sky. It was at least 5:30, judging from the sun's position. I'd been gone for nearly five hours.

I called upon another shadow, giving it a message to Auru. Rino was right—his invisibility charm had worn off. I needed it renewed, and fast. There was someone I needed to see.

* * *

_Auru's View_

/Hey, hey/

I was exiting the elevator into the Sunrise Alcove when my shadow started poking me insistently.

_What?_

/Yami-kun invisible again./ The shadow reminded me.

"Hey Rino," I said, joining my red-headed lover on the couch. "Yami-kun needs his invisibility back."

Rino nodded and put his hands in mine. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are." Rino closed his eyes and his magic shot through me. Less than three seconds later, the blinding rush was over.

/Yami-kun all fine invisible now/ The shadow, one of the younger ones judging by its 'voice', terminated the link.

Rino took a deep breath and let go of my hands.

"Oh no you don't," I said, catching his hands before they went too far away.

"Auru, I need to eat my dinner," said Rino, giving me a dirty look. _Oh, I can do dirty_.

A subtle, slightly evil smile came to my face. "Well…I can help you with that." I waved my hand at the door and it closed itself, latching.

"Oh no," said Rino, scooting away from me. He obviously knew where this was going.

I scooted forward and grabbed the fork off Rino's tray. Stabbing a piece of cantaloupe from a dish as I went, I pinned Rino to the couch with one hand and leaned over him.

"Open up," I teased.

"Not funny," said Rino dryly, though he wasn't exactly struggling.

"Oh, come on. For me?" I tried a sad face.

"Auru, your puppy-dog eyes need a lot of work," Rino retorted.

"Your compliance needs work," I said, feigning exasperation.

"Mmm…I wouldn't say so," said Rino suggestively. "Last night…."

My eyes widened. "Rino!"

"Kami-sama, I can't believe I just said that," said Rino, blushing and backpedaling. "You're corrupting me!" Rino made to whap me on the shoulder, but I caught both his hands, dropping the fork onto the tray between us and grinning.

Leaning very close to Rino's beautiful face, I slid the tray off Rino's lap and onto the coffee table quite handily placed beside us. I pinned Rino's hands above his head with one of mine. "I may be corrupting you," I acknowledged, slipping one hand under Rino's shirt, "but you seem to be enjoying every minute of it."

Rino didn't have a reply to that, so we decided to use his mouth in other, more delightful ways.

* * *

_Yami's View_

It was almost 7:00 before I reached the Kaiba mansion. I dropped past the magical shield and circled at a low altitude. I cast my senses out over the mansion, looking for the shadow I'd left with Yugi. _My Kami-sama!_ I quickly removed all perception from the Sunrise Alcove. Whatever Auru and Rino were doing, it was leading to one rather obvious event.

Shaking that offensive image from my mind, I continued my radar sweep. It was a few moments before I located Yugi. He was on the roof.

I headed in Yugi's direction, now a bit nervous.

_What am I going to say to him?_

_You're soul-bonded with him—it doesn't matter what you say_.

_That's hideously optimistic. I've been really cold to him—he may not even want to see me!_

_How will you know that unless you talk to him? Hmm?_

_Oh, shut up_.

I pulled Rino's necklace off and stuck it in my pocket, now hovering above a neglected garden.

Yugi was sitting in the middle, curled up, back against a broken fountain.

_Here goes nothing_.

* * *

_Yugi's View_

I felt Yami's shadow return to him at the same time I heard running footsteps. I quickly looked in that direction. Yami's wings were just disappearing and he had just landed, so he was running to blow off excess momentum.

It still felt as though he was running towards _me_, though.

"Hello, Yugi," said Yami, coming to a stop beside me. That was when I realized how awkward this might be.

"Hi, Yami," I replied, patting the ground beside me. He sat down, folding graceful legs and arms into a comfortable position.

The silence stretched, yawned, and settled in. At least five uncomfortable minutes passed.

"Yugi…."

"Yes?" I responded a little too quickly, grateful for any thread of conversation.

"Um…." Yami picked at a blade of grass beside his ankle. "Have you…looked in a mirror recently?"

"Yeah," I answered slowly.

"Did you notice anything…odd?" Yami prompted.

"Like my reflection disappearing?"

"Yes. Like that." Yami paused.

"Have _you_ looked in a mirror recently?" I asked. It was an innocent question loaded with hidden meaning.

"Yes," answered Yami. "Yes I have."

"Did you notice…anything out of the ordinary?" At least I wasn't completely repeating his questions to me.

"I did," said Yami. "I saw…you. Do you know—do you know what that means?"

I hugged my knees tighter to my chest. "I think I do," I said softly. "It means that I'm—I'm...falling in love with you," I finished, barely audible. There. I said it.

"…and that I am, too," finished Yami quietly. He chanced a look at me. Our eyes met and locked. Deep in his eyes was a little spark of happiness. I gave a slow, small smile, and he returned it, leaning forward. Then he stopped closing the distance and shut his eyes.

"Yugi…this isn't what—what a vampire would normally do. But…this is something I want to do. So I'm learning, alright? I have to learn self-control, caring, and—and love."

"Alright," I said.

"So…if I'm hurting you too much or going too far, tell me to stop. And if I don't, get me to stop however you have to. I would rather find you alive the next morning. Promise me that?"

"I promise," I said, meaning it. It was clichéd, but going down a new, rockier road goes better if your traveling companion doesn't trip you up.

Yami opened his eyes, deep dark crimson, and moved closer to my face. I held his gaze. I recalled, dimly, the first time we kissed, and how different it was. Now it was my turn to move a little closer, noses brushing ever so slightly. I closed my eyes.

It was a little more hesitant, but it was good all the same. His lips met mine, the pressure warming my cold body. One of his hands moved to my hip, and we stayed like that for a moment that didn't last long enough. I needed air, though, so I pulled away gently and took a breath.

I know my face was slightly red. "…again?" Yami asked, hooking one finger through my belt loop.

"Yeah," I said, leaning forward, my breath the only thing between us. Yami closed the distance and kissed me again, braver and insistent this time. His tongue licked along my bottom lip slowly, just tasting. Suddenly Yami broke away, covering his mouth.

"I'm sorry," he said, slight lisp in his speech. "I'm a little…thirsty." Yami didn't look at me, ashamed.

"It's okay," I said, pulling Yami's hand away from his mouth gently. His fangs had sprouted. "I don't mind."

"Yugi—."

I slipped my shirt over my head. "If we're—together," I said, "I don't want you drinking from anyone else. That's your promise to me, okay?"

"Yugi, I don't—."

"You can't kill me," I said, faintly aware of my own, uncharacteristic fortitude. "Only me, alright?"

"Yugi, it would be selfish of me to put you through all of that—."

I shook my head and leaned into Yami's space, tilting my head a little to the side. "I—I enjoy it."

Yami paused. "Alright then." He held out his hand. We clasped hands firmly and shook on it.

And then Yami pulled me forward. My hands flew out to break my fall, one of them wrapping around Yami and the other grabbing the edge of the fountain. Yami's hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer and up a little bit, so the juncture of my neck and shoulder was in easy reach.

One of Yami's hands came up to my neck, his thumb settling just under my jawbone, where my pulse was quickening. He leaned forward and placed his lips there, feeling my heartbeat increase further. Planting soft, dangerous kisses along a tiny yet crucial river of life in my body, Yami worked his way down almost to my collarbone.

"Ready?" It was whispered right against my skin, but without any touch of breath to it.

"Yeah," I breathed.

Yami sunk his fangs in slowly. I let out another breath, closing my eyes. All my thoughts and sensations were right there—the place where Yami's fangs met my skin. Hot and wet, burning and freezing—

Yami bit deeper and I let out a noise. The fangs started to move away. "No—that wasn't a 'stop'—mmmk." Yami's fangs sunk back in, further. "Yes—deeper—nnh—." Blood welled up around the two punctures and a drop rolled away, down my back, only to be stopped by Yami's deft fingers. He slid his fangs away, licking the blood off his fingers and away from the punctures. I shifted, about to move away, but Yami didn't let go.

"I didn't say I was finished," Yami whispered dangerously, close to my ear so I wouldn't miss a single word.

My heartbeat pounded as Yami's hands lifted my hips closer and pulled me flush against him. His fingers brushed my hair up and away, pausing briefly on the thumping pulse beneath my jaw.

There was no trail of kisses away from my neck. I felt Yami's fangs press against the soft, vulnerable skin right below my jaw-line, my breath catching in my throat. Then Yami slowly bit down, fangs sinking into my jugular vein. _Kami-sama that feels good—don't stop don't stop—_.

Yami's fangs sunk in deeper and I let out my breath, trying not to move too much. Yami didn't let go of me. It felt so good—it was hot fire and cold ice all at once—.

Yami slid his fangs out carefully, licking off the blood and then running a cool shadow over my wounds for healing. "I'm full," said Yami quietly, licking the blood off his slowly shrinking fangs.

"Good," I replied, catching my breath. Yami wasn't the only one satisfied with the last few minutes. I pulled my shirt back on and scooted close to Yami again. With our backs to the fountain, we sat in peaceful silence, all awkwardness gone.

I decided I liked this rooftop after all.

* * *

Smexy fluff. : ) (goes off to write chapter 16) 


	16. I Reached for the Stars, Only to Burn

Everyone, I am so sorry for this chapter being hideously late. My beta was on vacation, then I was on vacation, then school started, then my internet died, etc. Enough excuses. Here is chapter 16. Due to me not being able to contact my beta (if you're out there, e-mail me please: ( I still want you as my beta…), this chapter might be a bit more error-ridden. Again, I apologize. It's longer, at least! Don't hurt me…too much….

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE MY SECOND BETA FOR THIS FIC, say so in your review. Bear in mind that I would like a detailed, thorough beta who is not just interested in seeing the chapter first.

This chapter is action-oriented, but it sets up a bunch of things necessary for the good romantic/lemony/fluffy bits. It was hard to get started writing it…nothing seemed to fall into place. But enough of me babbling. Read it. :)

**On With The Fic Already:**

_Last time…_

_"I'm full," said Yami quietly, licking the blood off his slowly shrinking fangs. _

_ "Good," I replied, catching my breath. Yami wasn't the only one satisfied with the last few minutes. I pulled my shirt back on and scooted close to Yami again. With our backs to the fountain, we sat in peaceful silence, all awkwardness gone. _

_ I decided I liked this rooftop after all. _

**Dead & Dying **

**Sixteenth**

_Rino's View_

"Twice in one day, Auru," I half-complained, half-complimented. "You're insatiable."

"That's your fault," Auru replied instantly. "You insist on looking sexy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 or possibly 366 days out of every year." He was trailing my blanketed body with a hand and smiling devilishly.

"Thank you…I think," I said jokingly. Lying back on my pillow, having vacated the Sunrise Alcove a few hours ago, I glanced at the clock. It was almost ten o'clock. I snuggled deeper into the warm coziness of the large bed. Auru shifted closer and wrapped his arms around me.

"Good night, Auru."

"'night," said Auru sleepily. _Finally_, I thought, but with a small smile hidden in the darkness. I closed my eyes.

_Kaiba's View_

To be frank, I was shocked. Since that so rarely happens to a Kaiba, I was quite annoyed when I realized that I was shocked.

I also realized that I didn't close the diary in horror.

No…in fact, quite the opposite: I'd left it open.

I slowly looked back at the book. It wasn't as if I was looking at nude pictures of anyone else. That was me in the picture, for Kami-sama's sake. And nobody else (well, besides that idiotic bastard Auru) even knew I _had_ the diary. Katsuya would realize it was missing, and then look through his mess of a room for hours to find it. I had plenty of time to look at it.

I reached out and flipped to the next page. I was sitting at this very desk, again naked. Apparently Katsuya had taken a bit of creative license with this picture, because my hair was untidy and there was a vanilla frappuccino in my hand. I was sucking on the straw.

A highly perverted part of my mind that I didn't even know I had suddenly presented me with other, closely related images. Sucking on…! Kami-sama, why did I think of _that!_

Oddly enough I wasn't too disgusted. I only realized that later, however. I turned to the next page, almost as if that sexual part of my mind was controlling my hand on its own.

The next picture spread over both pages—it was a large party scene. I recognized it as one of the more extravagant business parties I'd been to. Thankfully, I had clothes on here: a rather sexily tailored tuxedo, which I actually owned but had only worn this one time. I didn't like it much—it was uncomfortable (I preferred my trench coat and turtleneck ensemble) but apparently Katsuya liked it enough to draw me in it.

There were lots of couples in the picture, all of them looking much more in love than they'd ever had that cold night last year. I'd taken Seisheima-san as my 'date'. That was not because I'd been even remotely attracted to her. It was a convenience thing: looking like an eligible bachelor at a party like that sent a telepathic message to every female in a fifty foot radius to latch onto me like a money-sucking leech. I looked carefully, but Seisheima-san wasn't in the picture. Strange. In fact, there was a blank space beside me that looked like it had been erased quite a few times.

I flipped the page. This drawing wasn't as big as any of the others; it was a slice across the page spread. It was from an odd angle as well—sort of sideways, as if Katsuya had been looking through a door slightly ajar. _What the—!_ Apparently he'd tossed off a quick sketch of me through my bedroom door. I was wearing a towel that was…erm…awfully low around the waist. My face was partially obscured by the other towel I was using to dry off my hair.

The logical part of my brain finally got back into gear. _Of course Katsuya draws most of his subjects nude. Practicing human anatomy is one of the most basic artistic skills. Obviously he's just sketching for practice. _ I made to close the diary.

_ So why are you the subject of every picture? Hm? _

That sexual part of my mind now made a comeback, now comrades-in-arms with my ego. My hand stopped.

_Why is that relevant?_ The logical part of my brain struck back.

_ You'd like to know, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you love to know what he thinks of you? _

_ Of course not—that's absurd. This whole situation is absurd! I refuse to deal with this any longer._

I stood up, resolve firm. Taking the diary in hand, I strode across my office's plush navy blue carpet to the impressive double doors. I had one hand on the door handle; I twisted it and pushed the door open, striding away—.

A paper fluttered out from between the pages of Katsuya's diary, landing face down on the landing at the top of the stairs. I looked at it, my resolve wilting.

I picked the piece of paper up reluctantly, irked by my own uncertainty.

"Seto?"

I contained my surprise. "Yes, MOKI?"

"The official that controls our American stock market connections will be calling in two minutes. You asked me to remind you."

"Thank you, MOKI; could you shut down for the night now?"

"Sure. Good night, Seto." A click followed. I was fairly rattled, but I turned my attention back to the paper in my hand. _I have things to do here! Just look at the damn thing already!_ I unfolded the paper.

If I'd thought a nude picture of me was bad, this was much, much worse. I was still naked in this picture, but I was very much not alone. In fact, I was engaging in a rather obscene activity with none other than my blonde security guard.

Kaibas don't blush, but on extremely rare occasions, their faces may turn a shade of red that would rival a firetruck's paintjob.

_Yugi's View_

I was grinning like an idiot. Luckily, it was dark and I was alone. Sunken deep into my blankets and ensconced in my room, I kept smiling in that idiotic fashion.

_He said he's falling in love with me_.

_I'm worth something to him. _

_ He kissed me. _

_ He bit me, too. _

I twitched my fingers under the covers. Yami and I had, after a time, walked back to the elevator and returned to the Sunrise Alcove. He squeezed my hand before we parted ways. Still disproportionably ecstatic over the whole thing, I curled up, tugged my pillow into the right place, and closed my eyes. It would be a little while yet before I calmed down enough to sleep, but eventually, pleasant blackness drew me in.

_Katsuya's View_

The elevator ride up the North Tower was unbearable. I paced the confines of the stupid glass elevator, panic threatening to rise to the surface.

_Come on Katsuya, get it together. You don't even know he's looked at it. _

_ He has, I know it—oh Kami-sama, I just remembered that last drawing I stuck in there—damnit damnit damnit! _

I dashed across the foyer on the floor below Kaiba's office, vaulting onto the stairs and taking them two at a time. I skidded on the carpet on the landing, flipping a good three feet of it over and stumbling spectacularly. Stifling an expletive, I managed not to wipe the floor with my face and came to an abrupt halt in front of the double doors at the top of the stairs.

Now I felt incredibly stupid. I reached for the doorknob, but let my hand fall lamely.

_Yeah, what are you going to say to him? Idiot. _

I clenched my fists in frustration and took a step back. Abruptly, the doorknob in front of me clacked. Panicked, I dashed to the side, trapped. The door swung open, hiding me behind it in the corner. Thank Kami-sama. I cursed my heavy breathing and tried to quiet it. _Shit! The carpet!_ I hadn't flattened it. Kaiba would know someone was here—_damn! _But there was only a pause as Kaiba stopped near the top of the stairs, and then a fluttering sound. I listened with bated breath, sure I was going hear his deadly, sexy voice—.

"Seto?" It was the mansion's computer. _What is WRONG with me!_ I slapped myself mentally.

Kaiba answered from barely four feet away. "Yes, MOKI?"

"The official that controls our American stock market connections will be calling in two minutes. You asked me to remind you."

"Thank you, MOKI; could you shut down for the night now?"

"Sure. Good night, Seto." There was a click.

The next sound, though it could have been totally innocent, was practically painful to hear—the rustling of papers. Then—

Silence.

The phone rang suddenly, shocking me. Kaiba turned and made to dash back into his office, but caught his foot on the edge of the carpet I'd flipped up. He swore under his breath and stumbled. There was a snapping sound and a flapping noise—he swept back into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. I stood paralyzed for a moment more in my hiding place, transfixed by a dropped piece of paper.

I didn't need to look at the drawing upon the paper too closely to recognize it.

_Yugi's View_

I woke up the next morning, blankets still wrapped around me. The first thing I felt was refreshment. I'd gotten a very good night's sleep. I rolled over, content to stay in bed for awhile—.

I remembered what was happening today and felt a small curl of bitterness. I wasn't needed this morning. I leaned over to my pants, still on the floor next to the bed, and fished in the pockets. My mouth felt sticky. There were a few jawbreakers left, and I popped one in my mouth. Free of morning breath, I rolled over, wadded my pillow back into a satisfactory lump, and tried to go back to sleep.

The next thing I remembered, though, was last night's events, and after that, I didn't feel so useless after all.

_Yami's View_

Kaiba had roused Auru, Rino, and I shortly after dawn. Of course, he hadn't come to our rooms personally—the phone rang. After picking it up, we were informed our presence was requested on the front porch.

I dressed quickly, tossing on a black turtleneck with red embroidery and deep blue jeans. Stepping into the bathroom, I splashed my face with water.

When all the glittery droplets slid away from my eyes and I could see properly, something in the mirror caught my eye. Instantly alert, I spun around to see who my attacker was. Then, I mentally slapped myself.

Yugi smiled back at me from the mirror.

Comforted, I brushed my teeth and exited my room. Predictably, I beat Auru and Rino to the Alcove.

Quietly, I went to Yugi's door and knocked twice. There was no answer. I lifted the ward I'd placed on his door before falling asleep last night and opened it, peering in.

It was dark. Yugi's breathing was even and shallow. That wasn't his normal breathing—was he faking? I came closer to the bed, unhindered by the darkness. Yugi was facing away from me.

"Yugi?" I whispered. If he was asleep, I didn't want to wake him.

He rolled over, though. "I guess there's no fooling you," Yugi said quietly. Something about someone whispering automatically makes you whisper too.

"I wasn't quite sure," I admitted. I sat down on the bed and instantly had second thoughts. Yugi moved away. I stood up awkwardly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have—."

"I was just…giving you more room. If you…wanted it," said Yugi, equally awkward. His face was red.

"What I said last night still holds, Yugi. If you don't like it, it stops. It's completely your choice." I was determined not to screw this up by dictating our relationship. It had to be voluntary.

Yugi sat up in the bed, stuffing two pillows behind him. He looked at me again, and I saw that he had a challenge in his eyes that I had only seen a few times before. "Yami…in our agreement, we never covered 'suggestions' on my part."

True, we did not. I thought that it was pretty clear here who the dominant one was. Or was that going too far? How far was this going to go? Or was I totally over-thinking that comment?

"So…if I 'suggest' a good morning kiss…would you mind?" Yugi held his arms out and I sat down again. He was smiling. I leaned in to lick his bottom lip, and then placed my lips over his, slipping my arms behind his back and drawing him closer. I realized that I shouldn't have had any qualms about dominance—Yugi parted his lips for me and I slipped my tongue inside his mouth. He tasted—fruity?

I broke the kiss, leaving our embrace where it was—Yugi's hands on my waist and mine linked around the small of his back. "Are you eating candy?"

Yugi did not blush. "Jawbreaker. Want some?" He grinned. I knew exactly where I'd have to go to get that jawbreaker…and it wasn't an unpleasant thought.

"Why, yes. I would like some," I said, playing along. Then I swooped back in, claiming Yugi's parted lips. His tongue was already playing with the jawbreaker, and I stole it with mine. I licked it a few times, and then simply tasted Yugi until he needed air. Such a bothersome concept: breathing….

Another tongue war ensued, and it was only when I heard some noise outside in the Alcove that I broke off.

"That's your cue to leave?" Yugi asked, a touch of reluctance in his voice.

"Unfortunately," I replied, giving him one last kiss. "I hope I can make it up to you, though…." I grinned seductively. Yugi did blush this time.

"Sure," he said. A smile came to my face. I left, closing the door with a quiet click and replacing the shadow ward. I turned around at a smashing sound—what in the world was going on?

"Rino—really—do I—ack!" Auru and Rino were barging out of their bedroom clumsily: Rino was forcing a shirt over Auru's head as he backed away. Auru ran into the doorframe, causing another awful smashing sound, and tried to reach for his smacked arm, though only succeeded in twisting the shirt around him further.

"Auru, please—would you—stop—squirming!" Finally, Rino gave a mighty tug and Auru's tousled black curls popped through the collar of the shirt.

"Ugh…clothes…such a waste of time," muttered Auru sullenly. "Gotta take them off n' everything…." He was not a morning person. Sitting down heavily on the edge of the couch, the black-haired vampire closed his eyes and tipped dangerously sideways, falling asleep on the spot.

Rino suddenly seized Auru's face and gave him a rather passionate, shocking kiss.

I became totally engrossed in the window. Cold, iron-grey light filtered through the clouds that had scudded over the sky during the night. I saw someone dart through a gap in the trees, wearing the guard's uniform that I assumed all of Kaiba's security had.

That was odd. Why would one of Kaiba's security guards be sneaking around his own patrol area? Was there a trespasser? No, Kaiba would know if someone had trespassed. I'd only been on his grounds for all of two minutes before he was pointing a gun at me. Was it something to do with the shrine nearby? I watched the area closely again, though I didn't see another sign of the person.

The obsidian pillar that rose from the shrine in the corner of the grounds glinted strangely in the morning light. I squinted, trying to read the runes engraved on it from this distance, but they were impossible to make out. That kiss was definitely getting longer than it was supposed to—.

"Ouch!" Auru and Rino apparently broke apart abruptly. "Damn! What was that for!" Auru griped.

"It woke you up," said Rino matter-of-factly. Did he just bite Auru's lip? No, that wasn't worth thinking about…no, not at all…certainly not….

Auru glared. "I said I was _corrupting_ you, not _making you a friggin' tease_!"

Rino smiled innocently. "Your bad. And in case you didn't notice, Yami-kun is waiting for us. Let's go." Rino headed for the elevator, engaging me in conversation. "Good morning, Yami-kun. I hope you slept well."

"I did, thank you." I knew well enough not to ask Rino how he slept. No doubt Auru would butt in with something…well, something I didn't want to know.

The ride down to the first floor of Kaiba's mansion was uneventful. We detoured into the foyer for our shoes. A maid showed up while we were there and handed us some warm, delicious-looking pastries for us to eat on the walk. "Kaiba-san is on the front porch, if you'll just go through those doors there."

I thanked her for all of us. We opened one of the huge double doors we had used the first day here. Outside were the terrace-like porch, the large stone staircase, and the forest beyond.

Kaiba stood frigidly a little to the side of the door. He was staring into space when I exited the mansion. Kaiba looked like he had quite a bit on his mind. He obviously had quite a bit on his body—the brunette was draped with ceremonial robes the like of which I hadn't seen since my reign in Egypt. They were deep blue and many-layered, with silver and white threads embroidered on the chest, back, and cuffs. Silver bands circled his fingers, wrists, neck, and ankles. Under the robe was a white shift with a crest of a dragon.

I coughed discreetly. Kaiba turned towards us, surveying us with eyes now cold and focused.

"Follow me in single file. Do not wander off." Without another word, Kaiba turned on his heel, robes billowing impressively around him, and strode off into the forest.

It was soon very dark and difficult to keep up with Kaiba's long strides. I finished my pastries quickly and concentrated on not losing Kaiba. There were several glass bottles in his robes, judging from the sounds coming from them.

It was nearly ten relatively silent minutes before the shrine loomed up before us. It was just as impressive as Kaiba's mansion, though smaller, comparatively. Obsidian walls eight feet high rose into the air, their smooth surface only punctuated by ten foot towers spaced evenly along the barrier.

The pillar visible from nearly anywhere on the grounds looked like it was in the center of the shrine. However, there was no visible door.

Kaiba strode up to the barricade confidently. He placed his hand on one section of the wall, and it simply vanished. Whether it was an extremely convincing illusion, or Kaiba had just managed to vaporize several tons of rock, was unclear. It was a remarkable piece of magic, either way.

We stepped through the hole in the wall and into a beautiful courtyard, the stone block materializing back into place behind us. The courtyard had been completely marbled over, but sunken into the ground and filled with water. Only a raised, circular platform in the middle and a walkway to it remained above the shallow, reflecting pool.

The obsidian pillar rested on an equally black box in the center of the circular platform. The black box was engraved with just as many runes as the pillar.

Kaiba was handing out bottles and instructions. "Suobanshu-san (Rino), you are in charge of lending me your power while I break the seal. Soikone-san (Auru), you are in charge of the double-circle shields. Mutou-san (Yami), you are in charge of dissipating all the magical energy that will backwash into this realm. You may stay the night if the enchantment drains you too much. Is that perfectly clear?"

Auru, Rino, and I nodded seriously. "Begin," said Kaiba simply. Auru walked off down the pathway to the circular platform in the middle of the pool. I followed. Kaiba and Rino stayed closer to the door.

Popping the cork out of a glass bottle, Auru summoned several shadows and began drawing the runes and lines necessary for the first circle shield. I strayed towards the black monolith in the center of the platform, as my part wouldn't come just yet.

I could understand and speak many languages, but the runes on the black stone box were a mystery to me. This was unsettling. I had a fleeting thought to refuse to participate in this spell. However, I had not forgotten that we were trapped. Comfortably so, but trapped all the same.

Rino had his hands on Kaiba's shoulders, Rino's eyes closed, Kaiba's unfocused but open. They moved as one to the circular platform. Auru closed the first shield, which encompassed the obsidian pillar. Once the four of us were outside the first shield, Auru closed the second.

It was deathly silent as Kaiba raised his hands. White sparks danced from his fingers. He stared intently at the black box in the center of the shields, and began to draw runes, saying their names quietly, but urgently.

Nothing happened for a full minute. I stood alert, waiting….

Both of Auru's shields suddenly flared with white light, blinding Auru and me. Magic had broken out of somewhere and flooded the shields. I braced myself, and then touched the one in front of me.

It was like touching a wire with the strongest electrical current possible. I cried out and tried desperately, gritting my teeth, to get the magic to flow away. I willed it fiercely into the ground, into the water, into the air—anywhere but inside me. I could feel Auru struggling to hold his shields together on the other side of the platform. Kaiba was still chanting softly, shuddering like a wind sock, Rino echoing his every tremor like a deformed mirror.

Wind came rushing by my ears continuously. A huge, terrible ripping noise assaulted my hearing next. At this, the amount of magic coursing through me surged; I nearly broke the connection. The magic surged again, again, and again, as if there were convulsions happening all around me; I was being squeezed and torn apart—.

Kaiba let the enchantment go as abruptly as if he'd dropped an anvil. He just stopped performing the magic. The last traces of power dissipated into the air and water. Steam hissed from the pool around us, coating everything in mist. Auru, Rino, and I fell to our knees, gulping air. No wonder Kaiba needed help with that enchantment. There was no shame in his request or in our collapses.

Kaiba, I realized, had not fallen to the ground. Instead, he had rushed forward on unsteady legs. He was bending over a dark shape which I couldn't make out on the ground in the middle of the now-spent circle shields.

I took several deep breaths as Kaiba tended to the thing he'd brought into this world. Slowly, Kaiba managed to pick it up.

Silent and ominous, ashen-faced and determined, Kaiba trudged out of the shrine, carrying the pale, motionless form of a child.


	17. Gaining a Reflection and Losing Control

I won't even mention the lateness of this. It is appalling enough as it is.

* * *

_Last time…_

_Kaiba, I realized, had not fallen to the ground. Instead, he had rushed forward on unsteady legs. He was bending over a dark shape which I couldn't make out on the ground in the middle of the now-spent circle shields._

_I took several deep breaths as Kaiba tended to the thing he'd brought into this world. Slowly, Kaiba managed to pick it up._

_Silent and ominous, ashen-faced and determined, Kaiba trudged out of the shrine, carrying the pale, motionless form of a child.

* * *

_

**Dead & Dying**

**Seventeenth

* * *

**

_Katsuya's View_

Kaiba and his three "guests" had been in the shrine for quite some time. I shifted, trying to be silent. This tree was getting uncomfortable. I'd gotten up early and gone outside, making sure to hide myself close to the shrine.

All of Kaiba's employees were informed that the shrine was for the dead body of Kaiba's brother. That was partially true. The shrine was for Kaiba's brother—but not for his dead body.

Kaiba Mokuba's soul was taken by a rogue necromancer, who Kaiba had killed in a rather hideous way personally soon after. I offered to guard the shrine for Kaiba, who accepted coldly. Kaiba began working obsessively to find a spell that would free Mokuba's soul from the limbo in which it resided.

Kaiba found the spell several years later, but couldn't do it alone. Discreetly, he searched the nation for people possessing enough magical skill to help him. The search was mostly fruitless. That was when four trespassers happened to drop into Kaiba's lap. Of course, I was under strict orders not to tell anyone about these things.

I finished the last pastry I'd nicked from the kitchen and tried to find a more comfortable position. Trees were never meant to be used as couches.

I hadn't slept very well last night. I'd worried over the diary for quite awhile, and then figured out a plan to get it back. It wasn't a very good plan—actually, it sucked—but it would have to do. Kaiba had probably looked at the first picture, been thoroughly disgusted, and tossed it aside. There was nothing for it. I licked some icing off my fingers.

I was happy that Kaiba was getting his brother back. I hoped and prayed that Mokuba's return would make Kaiba a happier person.

However…I'd promised myself that I would leave when Kaiba got his brother back. He would no longer need me, anyway. He'd no longer want me around, what with the entire diary fiasco. I'd already packed my bags this morning. Mokuba's return was bittersweet.

Then I smacked myself mentally. How could I be such a sick person? This is what Kaiba wanted all along. I should be ecstatic for him.

_I will be_.

Steps were approaching—weak, laden steps. I shifted ever so slightly to the left, so I could see the path from inside my tree without being seen myself. All the guards had supposedly been removed from the area.

Kaiba moved into my line of sight. He was carrying—a body. I bit my lip. The shock of long black hair was too distinctive to mistake—that was Mokuba. Was he all right, though?

Then I saw it—Mokuba's chest rose and fell comfortingly. He was just asleep, though pale and thin.

Kaiba looked equally pale, but his face was no longer the impassive mask. Worry creased his forehead; he was biting his lip and panting slightly. Restraining myself from jumping down from my tree and offering my help, I waited until Kaiba had passed far enough away.

When he was as far as I dared let him go, I quickly climbed down the tree. I gave Kaiba a wide berth, and sprinted around him. Carrying Mokuba, he was much slower.

I dashed up to the mansion and used a side door to get in. It was dark in the small sitting room I'd entered. Thankful that there was nobody here, I took a few deep breaths. It would look way too suspicious to arrive in the kitchen panting.

I dusted off my uniform and picked a stray leaf out of my hair. I was presentable. I walked quickly across the foyer—good, Kaiba wasn't here quite yet—and into the kitchen.

Several maids and cooks were in the kitchen, bustling about. The kitchen was a large, long room, with cupboards and counters lining the walls. An island counter ran the length of the room, divided in the middle and at the ends. Impeccably clean white and blue tiles and the occasional piece of stainless steel glinted in the bright lighting.

"Ouch!" Someone smacked me from behind. I turned around, miffed.

"Katsuya-san, you were just in here," accused Seishima-san. "Hungry _again_?"

I knew she was just teasing. "Yes, I'm hungry, okay? So…this is mine now." I snatched a roll filled with meat and cheese out of the basket she was carrying.

"Katsuya-san!" I dodged Seishima-san's next attack and moved back towards the door to the kitchen. Kaiba would be here any second now, any second now—.

The main doors banged open and Kaiba shouted for his hired help. Instant mayhem reigned in the kitchen as the maids and servants all made for the door.

I tucked myself into the niche behind the fridge and stayed until the rush had passed. Then I dashed out of the kitchen with a slightly surprised look on my face.

"Mokuba!" Seishima-san said softly, as though she barely believed it. Kaiba made quite a scene in the middle of the foyer. Ringed by his shocked employees, he was holding what looked like the dead body of his brother. Both of them were ashen-faced and drawn. Kaiba was wearing a set of strange robes, and looked like he was about to collapse.

"Dinner. All of his favorites," said Kaiba. "Clean his room. New sheets. Find the best doctor in the country and get the man here now. I don't care how."

For once, nobody jumped to Kaiba's command. Seishima-san bit her lip. "Kaiba-san…he's dead. Just—"

"He's alive!" Kaiba sounded almost desperate. "Go!"

There was silence again. Nobody moved. Almost everyone here had seen Mokuba 'buried.' Now it looked like their employer had suddenly lost it. I could see Mokuba was barely breathing.

"Well!" I yelled. "You heard him!" I shoved the person nearest me, which created a domino effect of stumbling people. "Get the hell out of here!" Suddenly, movement filled the foyer as everybody except Kaiba, Mokuba, and I rushed to do as they were told.

Kaiba took a deep breath, seeming not to have noticed me. He moved one foot slightly, but swayed on the spot.

Under normal circumstances I would never have dared to seize Kaiba around the middle, but these were not normal circumstances. So I wrapped my arms around Kaiba, supporting him from behind. His legs gave out right about then and he slumped against me. I wasn't thinking about how I'd dreamed about this.

"Kaiba-san! C'mon, man, get it together—." Kaiba weighed less than I did, but he was taller. He also had a death grip on his brother, which made him quite unwieldy.

"Katsuya-san?" Kaiba said.

"Yeah, Kaiba-san, it's me. Let's go—up we go—." I lifted Kaiba up a few inches and turned us in the direction of the elevator. "Okay. It's just as far as the elevator, Kaiba-san, you can do it."

Kaiba slid down an inch or two. "Here—give me Mokuba," I said, trying not to drop them both.

"No," Kaiba said fiercely.

"That's fine, that's okay." I backed off. I kept moving towards the elevator—ten steps now, nine steps—.

I heaved Kaiba back up again and we made it another three steps. Kaiba was barely moving now. Was he going to black out? He would probably kill me for having seen him in such a state of weakness, but I couldn't think about that right now.

I flipped Kaiba around, so he was facing me, and then, with a mighty heave, got him draped over my shoulder. How he was still holding on to Mokuba was a mystery. I got the three of us to the elevator, which opened cheerfully.

"Mokuba's room," I told it.

"Mokuba's room is off-limits," MOKI told me. I nearly swore, but Kaiba probably didn't want his brother hearing all the colorful words I knew.

"My brother's eyes are blue," said Kaiba tiredly. "Override all security parameters on Mokuba's room." Evidently that was the password, because the elevator door whooshed shut and the elevator itself sped into motion.

I leaned against the rail around the edge of the elevator, Kaiba's knees digging into my gut and one of his shoes poking my thigh. I was never happier to hear the elevator door ding.

I turned around with difficulty and lurched out of the elevator. Mokuba's room was decorated in varying shades of blue and green, all light colored. It was a bit like walking into the sea.

The room was L-shaped, with the elevator door at the bottom of the short part. A large flat-screen TV hung darkly on the left-hand wall. Two tall shelves framed it, full of games and movies. Game consoles, a DVD player, and a VCR were housed in a cabinet below the TV. Green beanbags, a blue couch, and a couple of end tables were opposite the TV. The carpet was fuzzy blue—lighter than the couch but darker than the blue curtains across the room from me.

The window stretched all the way across the far wall, covered by recently dusted curtains. I continued into the room. In front of the window was a desk. A laptop lay closed on it. I recognized it as Kaiba Corp.'s latest model, even though that had only come out six months ago.

At the top part of the L was a king-sized bed with fresh sheets. In the back of my mind I thought, _Damn. Those people are fast._ A canopy was draped over the bed. The bathroom door was to my left, surrounded by pictures of Mokuba and his older brother. The walls were a soothing pastel turquoise.

I dumped both Kaibas onto Mokuba's bed. "Last…bottle," said Kaiba, eyes closed. His hand drifted heavily towards his robe—an inner pocket, maybe?

I opened Kaiba's robe a little. All he was wearing under it was a white linen shift with a beautiful silver dragon on it. I bit my lip hard, to keep focused as I pulled away more of Kaiba's outer robe. What kind of sick, one-track mind did I have!

I found the inner pocket at last. It contained a little glass bottle.

"Mokuba…" said Kaiba wearily.

"Yeah, Kaiba, I got it." I yanked the top off the bottle and opened Mokuba's mouth. He was barely breathing now. _Shit!_ Leaning over the pale, black-haired boy, I poured a few drops of the liquid in the bottle into Mokuba's mouth.

Mokuba swallowed reflexively, and I poured more of the stuff in his mouth. Once the bottle was empty, I yanked the blankets out from under both Kaibas. I draped the blankets over both of them. Mokuba was wearing a funerary suit, the creepiness of that finally getting to me.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged again. Several people burst into the room. Some of Kaiba's security was there, a few maids, and a doctor still in his surgical green clothes. The doctor was suspended between two of Kaiba's beefier bodyguards, looking rather apprehensive.

"Put the guy down," I said. My voice was confident and commanding, unlike how I felt. Kaiba's bodyguards let the doctor down.

"Get to work," I snapped. "All of you—give the doc whatever he needs." I backed away from the bed a few steps, but stayed watchful.

The doctor pulled the blanket away from the pair of Kaibas and looked them over. He took a deep breath, and began his work.

* * *

_Yami's View_

Damn, I was sore. The sun had crawled a good ways across the sky before I felt like moving. I rolled over onto my back. My face felt weird where part of the stone I was lying on had made an imprint. I rubbed at it.

Auru had asked Rino if he was alright a while ago. Rino said he was, but didn't have much energy. We all felt highly drained.

My stomach growled. Great. I was hungry. If vampires are too low on blood, they don't eat. Eating requires blood to digest the food and get energy from it, and since the blood isn't replenished, it can be dangerous. Eating myself to death was a rather repulsive concept.

But more to the point, I was filled with Yugi's blood, and I was hungry.

I sat up carefully. Once the world had grudgingly stopped spinning, I looked around. Auru and Rino were both still lying on the ground, visibly alright. The pool had stopped steaming, and the grey sky had turned somewhat blue.

"Shadows of the black sky, I call you now—." The pair of wings I managed to summon with those words was weak. I kept them there, though, as I stood up cautiously.

The world didn't spin so much this time. I flapped my wings a couple times. Nothing happened. Damn, I'd have to do a running take off.

"Auru-kun, Rino-kun—I'm going back to Kaiba's mansion."

"Okay," said Rino. "I think I'm going to lie here for a tad longer."

"If I wasn't so damn tired I'd love to have you lying there for quite some time," griped Auru.

"Shut up," replied Rino. "Yami—here." I walked over to Rino's outstretched hand. A tingling feeling washed through me. "The invisibility will only last you until you get inside," said Rino apologetically.

"Thanks," I replied. "Don't stay out here too long."

I forced myself into a run, getting some air under my wings and managing to lift off. I barely cleared the obsidian wall around the courtyard.

My flight path was a straight line towards Kaiba's residence. Since I was flying instead of walking, it took less than ten minutes to get back to the mansion. It was still far too long, though.

The mansion wall loomed up before me. I picked out Yugi's window and angled towards it. I slowed down quite a bit to avoid hitting the wall, reaching for the windowsill.

Flapping my fading wings gently, I wrenched the window open and levered myself inside. A tingling feeling washed over me again, pins and needles taking my invisibility away. I allowed my wings to vanish and gravity roughly deposited me onto a blue padded window seat.

"Yami?" Yugi had been sitting in his bed still, writing in his journal. I could smell the ink and paper. "Yami—are you okay?"

"Very tired, Yugi, but okay," I answered. I leaned against the window frame.

"Here, Yami—." Yugi tossed his journal aside and came over to me. He was obviously not thinking about the clothes he was wearing: a pair of dusty blue boxers. He came towards me and I completely lost my train of thought.

Yugi shut the window behind me and pulled the drapes closed. "Come on." Yugi draped my arm around his slim shoulders. "Just a couple steps and you can lie down."

Yugi was warm and inviting to the touch. I stood up and moved with him the few steps it took us to reach the bed. I sat down, toed off my shoes, and, grateful for the brilliant person that invented pillows, lay back. Yugi grabbed his journal and opened it, heading for an armchair. He was probably bursting with curiosity about what I had done that morning, but wasn't peppering me with questions. Something stirred in my chest. Then, annoyingly, my stomach voiced its needs again.

"Yugi?"

He turned. "What?"

"I'm really hungry…would you mind getting me something to eat?"

Yugi reached for his pants. "Sure."

"Thanks." I closed my eyes. Yugi had had the lights on in the room. "And—could you turn out the lights when you leave?"

"Okay." I heard the pull of a zipper and the rustling of cotton. Yugi walked across the room and flipped the light switch, plunging the room into total darkness.

The door clicked open and snapped shut. My thoughts slowed down, drifting from the thing Kaiba had summoned to Yugi. I slid down in the bed, which smelled strongly of him. Finally, I entered my vampiric oblivion. The darkness here was even more pure. I floated in it, resting.

The door to our room clicked open again, a little later. I smelled food—fresh bread, aromatic cheese, many different fruits mixed together in a salad, water, and Yugi. He padded into the room quietly.

Abruptly there was a harsh bang. Yugi sucked in a breath sharply. He moved again, more slowly, towards the bed. Apparently he'd tripped and hit the table.

"Yami?" he whispered.

"I'm still awake." I sat up and reached for the tray in Yugi's hands. "Thank you."

"No problem," he replied. Yugi curled up at the head of the bed near me, hugging his knees to his chest. He was watching me. I picked up the roll and buttered it quickly. It was gone a minute later. The cheese followed. I took the spoon in hand and dug into the fruit dish. It was sweet and juicy….

Yugi was bleeding. I could practically taste it…I wanted to taste it….

"Yami?" Yugi spoke softly, about to ask me something.

"Yugi…." I set the tray aside as though in a dream. I wasn't thinking rationally anymore. I leaned over Yugi, turning to face him. Now I was a predator. "You're bleeding, Yugi…." My fangs were lengthening past my bottom lip. My stomach was sated but my bloodlust was not.

"Yami—." Yugi's voice wavered.

I leaned farther over him. One hand forced his knees down, straightening Yugi's legs, and the other toyed with the bottom of Yugi's white cotton T-shirt.

I traced Yugi's ear with my tongue. He shivered. "Off," I whispered. Yugi's hands went slowly, reluctantly, to the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled upwards. I followed his hands with mine, feeling his warmth. Blood was rushing to his cheeks. He set his shirt aside. My fingers trailed down his chest. He looked so delectable…he smelled absolutely tantalizing….

My tongue ran along his jaw, fangs brushing warm skin. "Yugi…where are you bleeding?" Yugi's blush burnt even redder. I knew perfectly well where he was bleeding, but I loved to ask. "Tell me…."

Yugi drew breath slowly, trying to be calm as he brought his fingers to his hip, barely touching the denim well below the waist of his pants. I smiled. One of my knees slipped between Yugi's legs as I bent down.

My fingers worked the button on Yugi's pants. My other hand rested against his neck, feeling the pulse there increase as I touched him. His zipper slid down and so did his pants, helped along by his tentative, innocent hands and my questing, demanding fingers. I tossed his pants aside and knelt between his legs, forcing him to keep them spread.

Yugi went perfectly, unnaturally still as my fingers stopped at the waistline of his boxers. I slid a single finger under the cloth. I licked my lips, tongue darting out between my fangs.

It was his left hip that he had hit against the table. The wound was fresh and untended; I could tell just by the scent. Had Yugi not wanted to tempt me with it by asking for healing? The smell alone was temptation enough. I hooked another finger under the waistband of his boxers and pulled, just enough to expose his bloodied hipbone.

The cream-colored skin had been torn just a little, just enough for blood to seep through. The area around it was already beginning to darken, deep purple starting to show itself. I traced around the wound with cool fingers, Yugi watching my movements with both anticipation and fear.

I bent down and licked the blood from the cut. Yugi trembled. I held his left thigh and right hip, pinning him down and preventing escape. He whispered my name and I licked again, pressing harder. A small noise escaped Yugi's lips.

"More?" I asked seductively, fangs displayed in a predatory smile.

Yugi nodded and closed his eyes.

I bent down again and cleaned off the blood seeping from the cut. He tasted sweet and succulent, fresh and innocent. I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back against the pillows. I still held his thigh and hip, preventing him from closing his legs to me.

Yugi's leaning back meant his wound wasn't trapped in the cleft where his thigh met his hip. I moved closer to Yugi, listening to his breath hitch and his heart beat.

"Ready?" The droplets of blood seeping out of Yugi's porcelain skin had me transfixed.

"Yes," breathed Yugi.

I sunk my fangs into the cut, primal instinct writhing with fulfillment. The warm, metallic taste of Yugi's blood ran through my fangs and over my tongue.

"Yami…" Yugi whispered, in a voice that I was beginning to love. His hips struggled to rise and bury my fangs deeper. I was ecstatic to oblige his wishes.

I pushed my fangs in harder, spreading the original cut wider. Yugi whimpered, but his hips rose up again invitingly…Kami-sama take me now….

I tightened my hold on Yugi's thigh and hip and drove my fangs in even deeper, relishing the luscious, coppery taste, the cry that escaped Yugi's mouth, and the feel of warm skin under my lips.

Something brushed the side of my face—something hard. I pulled my fangs out and looked up at Yugi, who was blushing profusely. His eyes were open, a mix of fear and shame shadowing the lust. Letting my eyes trail back down Yugi's chest, passing his navel, I saw what had brushed me.

I leaned over Yugi, putting my face barely an inch from his. My right hand left his right hip and settled between his legs.

"Yugi…." There was a grin in my voice. His eyes shut tightly. I ran my right hand temptingly over the bulge in Yugi's boxers. He bit his lip. I did it again, slower, rewarded with the smallest of jerks from Yugi's hips.

"Stop biting," I said softly. Yugi released his lower lip from his teeth's firm grip, but nearly bit down hard again when I ran my hand over his crotch once more.

"_I'd_ rather be the one biting your lip," I said, claiming Yugi's mouth again. Another slow stroke from my right hand drew a quiet, wanton moan from Yugi's throat. A brief pause for breath, and then I slid my fangs inside Yugi's mouth. One careful movement punctured his lower lip as my right hand moved over Yugi's crotch. I tipped Yugi's head farther back against the pillows as his vocal cords betrayed him. The metallic taste of blood seeped into my mouth and Yugi's.

My right hand slid between Yugi's legs again, pulling an appreciative moan from Yugi. His hips lifted to meet my hand. I let go of his thigh, hooking both hands in the waistband of his boxers—

Someone rapped at the door. Damn them! I was suddenly filled with intense anger. I kissed Yugi quickly and stood up. I strode towards the door, with the intent of giving whoever it was a piece of my mind.

I yanked open the door to find a maid. "The tray, please," she said. I capped my rage, barely, and spun around. I went back inside the room and grabbed the tray. I handed it to the maid rather brusquely and shut the door again, locking it both physically and magically. I strode back into the room, pulling off my shirt and tossing it aside.

But Yugi was no longer there.

* * *

Chapter 18 is being beta'ed as you read this. 


	18. I Don't Know Where I'm Going

Happy holidays to everyone, whatever you celebrate! Here is an update for all of you! Chapter 19 is being betaed as you read this. Yay!

_Last time…_

_I yanked open the door to find a maid. "The tray, please," she said. I capped my rage, barely, and spun around. I went back inside the room and grabbed the tray. I handed it to the maid rather brusquely and shut the door again, locking it both physically and magically. I strode back into the room, pulling off my shirt and tossing it aside. _

_But Yugi was no longer there. _

**Dead & Dying**

**Eighteenth**

_Yugi's View_

I leaned back against the wall in my room, panting. Barely controlled terror roiled inside me, smashing though the lust. I spread my hands against the wall, as though it anchored me to reality, and slid down until I sat on the floor. When Yami had paused in his ministrations, I had suddenly panicked and torn myself away from the bed. I had darted through the connected bathroom and into my room, locking the door behind me. I wrapped my arms around my knees.

_What happened to me?_

I had _wanted_ so badly. Once Yami had stopped…I….

_You didn't care, did you?_

_What?_

_You didn't care what he did to you._

I bit my lip, and even that simple action reminded me of him. I forced myself to let go.

_You didn't care if he used your body as he pleased…if he abused you…._

I tried to get closer to myself, to become smaller and smaller. I only succeeded in tightening my grip around my knees even further.

Yami had had complete control of my body. Yet it was his control of my heart and my mind that terrified me.

_Katsuya's View_

I couldn't tear myself away from the Kaiba mansion, not when the eldest Kaiba himself was in terrible condition. I rationalized away my staying. Of course Kaiba's most trusted bodyguard couldn't leave him in a situation like this. He needed support, I told myself. _But when did Kaiba ever need support? _

My room lay bare. My possessions had been crammed into two large suitcases and a backpack. Since I wasn't the neatest of homemakers, the room looked oddly empty to me. Normally there were any number of things scattered over the bed, the dresser, the floor, the nightstand, the couch, the entertainment center, and the bookshelf. Posters had been pasted to the walls with abandon. My closet doors were usually open, exposing a large, disorderly pile of clothes and shoes. The bathroom, which, luckily, I didn't share, generally looked as though a watery tornado had recently passed through.

Now, strangely, the tan carpet on the floor and the wood paneling of the walls were visible. Most of my furniture was a dark, rich wood I didn't know the name of. My bed had reddish sheets, with a big yellow-gold comforter. For once, it wasn't hanging off the bed.

I shook my head and picked up my pen again. For the last hour I'd been trying to write a successful letter of resignation, but each one came out horrible.

I'd ruled out "Dear Kaiba," at least. When had he ever been labeled dear?

The next line was a bit harder. That was sort of like saying that running three marathons was a bit harder than being a couch potato. I bit the end of my pen and took another stab at it.

_First, I would like to tell you—_

No. That sounded stupid. Kaiba doesn't want to read stupid letters.

_Thank you—_

Even worse. Kaiba doesn't have time for thank-you letters.

_After these five years—_

My God. I sound like I'm reminiscing or something.

_I'm quitting_.

Much too blunt.

_In case you're wondering, yes, my diary is accurate._

Equally blunt.

_After careful consideration—_

No, Kaiba would probably laugh at the thought of me thinking. I shifted in my chair and readjusted my paper. This was going to take a while.

_Yami's View_

"Yugi?"

He was not in the room, smell alone confirmed that. I turned to the bathroom door and opened it. He wasn't in there either. I walked across the bathroom and tried the handle on the other door.

It was locked.

I summoned a few shadows, and they began to twine around the doorknob. Several seeped through the doorknob itself, trying to unlock the door.

Without the tempting scent of Yugi's blood, my predatory mindset began to slowly dissipate. Realization came to me in a great flood, my hand frozen on the doorknob.

I looked at my right hand as though it didn't belong to me, as though it was some cast-off, mangled refuse. I had touched Yugi so intimately…and now….

I reached up and touched my lips, letting my shadows disappear without having unlocked the door. My fangs were gradually shrinking, but I had blood trailing down the side of my face.

Guilt hit me with all the subtlety of a freight train. I turned to the bathroom counter and yanked the faucet handle up, sending water gushing into the sink. I scrubbed my face and hands, but I couldn't erase the past half hour of my life. Why had I lost control like that? If Yugi hadn't left…. My mind completed that sentence for me.

_You were going to rape him._

_Auru's View_

Hmm. Rino was asleep. How cute. I raised myself up on one elbow. It was nearly noon. Time for a little…activity.

I rose to my feet soundlessly and walked toward Rino. His red hair was in disarray, as it had been last night. His navy blue jacket and tan corduroys were a little dirty. I decided the jacket had to go.

I straddled Rino, taking care not to touch him. He was such a light sleeper. I pulled down the jacket zipper with care, licking my lips. Rino had worn a button-down shirt today. Luck, obviously, favored me—I could get his chest exposed without waking him. I undid all the buttons, one by one. Rino stirred slightly, his head tipping to the other side. With great difficulty, I held back my hands until Rino relaxed.

Gently, I lowered my weight onto Rino, hips first. He was warm and soft. I claimed his lips as they let out a surprised gasp. Rino broke away, instantly awake. "Auru! What—what—?"

"Hello," I said, grinning devilishly. My hand slid quickly to the zipper of Rino's corduroys and tugged it down.

Rino seized my wrist. "Not in the middle of a mausoleum!" He zipped his pants back up with a disapproving look. Where we did it never particularly bothered me.

"Rino…please…." My puppy-dog face accompanied this request. Rino squirmed and looked away, desire battling reason in his eyes.

"When we get back to the house," he finally said.

"Excellent!" I seized Rino around the waist and summoned wings. I pulled the two of us upwards, beating the air vigorously. Rino's jacket flapped about the pair of us as I fought for altitude. The surface of the pool started to dance as I finally lifted Rino and myself far enough above the wall to clear it.

I swooped over the wall and back towards Kaiba's mansion, pressing Rino's hips to mine. He was hanging onto me for dear life, which I actually kind of liked. His arms wrapped around my neck; his legs circled around my waist. That was really rather distracting: because I was moving up and down in midair, Rino ended up rubbing against already-stimulated parts of my anatomy. _Focus, Auru—damn that felt good—ah—focus!_

Rino's hands flickered with white light, making us invisible. Since the room that Rino and I shared didn't have an outside wall, I had to go in through the Sunrise Alcove. I reached the large window and gripped the sill. "Rino—would you mind?"

"What? Oh—." He took a fortifying breath and looked up. Opening the window was practically impossible to do with Rino in the way. I flapped my wings again and braced my feet against the wall.

Rino cautiously unwrapped his legs from around my waist. He put his feet on my thighs and stood up carefully, determinedly not looking at the ground four stories down.

He turned around and opened the window. I gave another flap of my wings to boost him inside, and then followed, getting a lovely view of Rino's backside in the process.

The instant I was inside I smelled fresh blood. I paused. That was Yugi's blood.

Rino was dusting himself off and reacquainting his feet with the solid feel of the floor.

"Auru?"

"Just a second, love." I planted a quick kiss on Rino's forehead, who looked dumbfounded that I hadn't pounced on him the instant we were inside. I _can_ wait…I just…don't like to. I crossed the room and knocked quietly on the door to Yugi's room.

No answer.

I tried the doorknob—locked. By the scent, though, Yugi was still bleeding freely. I touched the door again, unlocking it with shadows. It took them nearly a minute to undo the complex locks Kaiba had evidently chosen for his mansion.

It was light inside the room. Yugi was looking suspiciously over the back of an armchair at me. His lip was punctured and bleeding. It was obviously a vampire bite.

"Yugi…?"

"Go away," he whispered. Instead, I pushed the door mostly shut and came towards him.

Yugi shrank away from me, trying to occupy less space in the armchair he was sitting in. "Auru-kun—please don't—."

I held my finger up to my lips. "I don't know what happened and I don't want to know. But this won't heal without the touch of shadows." I knelt in front of the chair and touched Yugi's lip briefly, sealing his skin back together and cleaning off the blood. That wasn't the only wound he had, though. Blood was seeping through the black pants he was wearing, near his hip.

I recognized that wound from the many times I had slept with Rino. I could guess what had happened pretty well. I barely touched Yugi's hip, healing it as non-invasively as I could. Yugi bowed his head.

"Yugi, again—I don't know what happened and I don't want to. But Yami is probably feeling guilty beyond belief right now. You're obviously terrified. Both of you need to work this out. It doesn't have to be right now. But it needs to happen. Okay?"

Yugi was silent a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay," I said. I gave a small smile and left.

Rino was waiting for me in the Sunrise Alcove. He didn't say anything until I had closed the door to Yugi's room.

"What happened to Yugi-kun?" Rino spoke softly.

"Yami-kun tried to…."

Rino filled in the blank for himself. He looked away from me. My heart wrenched painfully in my chest. Rino was remembering the times that I had tried to rape him.

"Rino…if…I…." Usually I could put words together in the savviest of ways, but now I couldn't come up with anything except, "Rino…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

My own advice came back to hit me in the face. _Both of you need to work this out_. I tried again, taking a few steps forward and clasping Rino's hands in mine.

"Rino. I'm sorry. If I could go back and redo those times again I would do so in a heartbeat. The fact that I was the one to cause you this much pain…I hate myself for it. Rino, I love you."

The times when we expressed our love in words were few and far between. Saying it so bluntly was exposing, in a way. Rino met my eyes, the turmoil in his mind receding. "I love you too." He moved closer to me.

"Rino…may I?"

He knew exactly what I was talking about. Rino looked up at me and squeezed my hands. He took a few steps backwards in the direction of our room. I already knew his answer, but it was the fact that he trusted me to honor his wishes if he said "no" that made me feel warm.

"Yes, please, Auru—"

I pushed Rino up against the door to our room—gently—and claimed his lips in a passionate kiss. He broke off, grinning.

"—but not in here."

_Yugi's View_

About an hour after Auru had healed my wounds I had calmed down enough to think semi-rationally. I had left my journal in my room, which Yami was now using. I found a little pad of paper on the nightstand instead, the kind that usually crop up in hotels. Thankfully, there was no cheesy logo on it or the pen next to it.

I sat down on the floor next to the coffee table and set my pen to paper. Writing like this had always been my method, however clumsy or lame, to sort out the tangle of thoughts in my head.

Feeling relatively safe in the knowledge that no one would ever read this, I let my pen dance across the page.

_Why am I even here? I haven't done anything particularly helpful the past few days. I was sent to Menoma's Haven to learn to become a working part of society. I never did. I asked Yami to take me with him because I was attracted to him. What was I hoping for? A haven? Was I searching for a crutch I could lean on all my life? A protector? Was my body the price I was willing to pay for that? Do I want Yami that way? What kind of future do I have? Is it with him? Can I even start a life for myself like this? I have nowhere to go, and now that the enchantment is done, nowhere to stay. _

I continued writing until my hand cramped up. It was nearly five o'clock. I wasn't even remotely hungry, so I curled up on the couch and slept.

_Kaiba's View_

I woke up feeling like shit. Generally, I would have a much more descriptive phrase there, but my brain was too fuzzy to come up with anything better. My body felt like lead.

I cracked one eye open and saw a green canopy. It was only in Mokuba's room where there was a green—!

I sat up abruptly and turned to Mokuba. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing steadily. Color was returning to his face and his hands were tucked in close to his chest.

I felt a rush of happiness so indescribably enormous that I had to stop myself from taking my little brother in my arms and squeezing him close right then. Instead, I traced my finger along his cheek, as if confirming to myself that Mokuba was indeed alive.

Suddenly I had much more energy than I had thought. I stood up carefully, trying not to shake the bed too much, and went to the other end of the room. Next to the flatscreen TV was a little silver panel. I flipped it open and static crackled out. "Yasuhito-san?"

"Yes, Kaiba-san?"

"Give the doctor who was just here a large bonus. Stock the kitchen with all of Mokuba's favorites and hire an extremely competent nurse. And bring me coffee."

"Yes, sir."

A crackle of static indicated that Yasuhito was off to carry out my orders. I quickly turned to go back to the other end of Mokuba's room, but stopped mid-step in the middle of the room.

Mokuba was sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes, with his black hair falling around him. An intense feeling of déjà vu washed over me—how many times had I woken Mokuba up to see just that scene? Granted, he hadn't been wearing a funeral suit, but it was still like nothing had changed.

"Mokuba?"

He looked up, wide blue eyes focusing instantly on me. "I'm sorry—did I wake you?"

Understanding didn't come to Mokuba's face. I was waiting, painfully ready, to hear him say my name, to hear him call out to me, to smile—.

There wasn't even a spark of recognition.

_Rino's View_

I rolled over in bed. The blue numbers on the clock on the nightstand blinked to 10:36. Auru was fast asleep. _My God, he should be. Insatiable vampire…._ I couldn't really complain, though. Once Auru gained my reflection, he could turn to no one else for a life partner.

I shifted in the bed again. Unconsciously, Auru draped an arm around my shoulders.

_Yugi's View_

I felt very detached from my body when I woke up. I wasn't sure what time it was, or even if I had actually woken up at all. Movement was an irrelevant concept. I suddenly found myself in the Alcove, moonlight streaming through the open window.

Light played over my body as I made my way to the elevator. I wasn't sure what was driving this midnight sojourn, but that didn't seem important….

The elevator doors dinged and admitted me. I spoke to the elevator, but in a voice not my own. The doors closed and the glass box of the elevator whisked me away.

A few moments later the elevator glided to a halt. The doors split with a quiet ding. Even though the room beyond was dark, I felt no qualms about entering. Instinctively, I moved forwards and turned left. I was searching for something….

Quiet breathing from the bed drew me towards it. I felt, rather than saw, the presence of a clean mind, a blank mind—one with all its memories somehow removed. I sat slowly on the edge of the bed. My hands were weightless and translucent as I reached towards the face of the boy in the bed. Light jumped from my fingers the instant I touched him, tiny ribbons of blue static disappearing into his head.

My fingers covered his eyes as I settled them onto his face. Static jumped leisurely from my translucent hands, and I felt neurons knitting together, rewiring themselves. I felt jerking motions rock the bed and heard long strings of unintelligible language; I felt emotional gyrations course through the boy and emptiness vanish in a rush of knowledge and personality.

I let go, suddenly hearing with intense clarity my own harsh breathing. I slowly slumped over.

_Katsuya's View_

It was 6:29 a.m. Usually I wasn't even considering consciousness at this point. Today, however, was my last day at Kaiba's mansion, and I intended to make it as good as possible.

_Which isn't looking very good_, I thought to myself as I stepped out of the elevator. I crossed the room to the spiral staircase that led to Kaiba's office in a businesslike manner. I was dressed in a fresh suit, not my security guard uniform, and I felt oddly exposed and naked. I held a single white envelope in my hand, the kanji for Kaiba's name centered neatly in the middle.

I reached the top of the staircase, quashing all the trepidation I felt. There is a certain kind of calm that comes with knowing you are doomed. Then I kicked myself for thinking such morbid thoughts and rapped smartly on the door to Kaiba's office.

There was no response.

I stayed outside the door for a minute longer, very uncomfortable. Certainly MOKI should have at least told me that Kaiba was not in his office, and that I should either leave a message or come back later. I shifted from foot to foot, and then, abruptly, opened the door.

It was dim inside the office, feeble morning light making it way tiredly through the large windows. Kaiba was slumped in his desk chair, looking decidedly awful. His ceremonial robes hung limply around his thin frame. His eyes were red-rimmed and betrayed his lack of sleep. Kaiba's head was tilted backwards, resting against the back of the chair. Never had I seen him in such a lifeless posture. His chest barely rose and fell.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. Kaiba didn't move. "Uh," I began eloquently. "I'll just…leave this here then. Kaiba. Sir." I walked quickly over to Kaiba's desk and set the envelope down. He still didn't move.

I waffled between walking around the desk to check his vital signs and simply leaving. Protocol won out. I turned around and headed for the door.

"He doesn't remember."

I faced Kaiba again, not quite sure he'd spoken. "Kaiba-san?"

He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. "Not a thing. He doesn't even remember my name." Kaiba's voice was oddly throaty, as though he was about to cry. "I have his body and his life, but not his memories. What did I do wrong?"

A sudden burst of understanding crossed my mind. God, no wonder Kaiba seemed crushed! "Kaiba! It's not your fault! Just having him back is amazing! I'm sure we—you—can find a way to get his memories back." I was flying totally blind. Kaiba needed comfort? From me? I was painfully stuck. One part of my mind firmly insisted that I was supposed to be halfway out of Kaiba's mansion by now, on the way to the airport and a different life. The other half insisted equally bluntly that I shouldn't abandon Kaiba now. This was my chance!

Kaiba roughly swiped his hand across his face. I walked around the desk, catching a chair on the way and dragging it up next to him. I had no idea what I was doing.

"Kaiba…c'mon…it's gonna be okay." The "-san" seemed kind of pointless now. With courage born from the knowledge that I was crashing and burning any way I played this, I wrapped my arm around Kaiba's shoulders and pulled him close. Amazingly, he didn't immediately break my arm. Instead, he allowed me to hold him. Granted, it wasn't exactly how I'd drawn it in my diary, but I was still holding Kaiba in my arms. I shifted to better comfort my former employer, leaving my letter of resignation lying quietly on his desk.

Happy holidays!


	19. Your Death is Mine

And, to celebrate the New Year…an update.

_Last time…_

"_Kaiba…c'mon…it's gonna be okay." The "-san" seemed kind of pointless now. With courage born from the knowledge that I was crashing and burning any way I played this, I wrapped my arm around Kaiba's shoulders and pulled him close. Amazingly, he didn't immediately break my arm. Instead, he allowed me to hold him. Granted, it wasn't exactly how I'd drawn it in my diary, but I was still holding Kaiba in my arms. I shifted to better comfort my former employer, leaving my letter of resignation lying quietly on his desk. _

**Dead & Dying**

**Nineteenth**

_Yami's View_

I woke up with a severe headache. Sometime in the middle of my self-loathing session last night I had just fallen asleep. Great.

My mouth tasted sticky and my clothes were rumpled from my restless sleep. Light was flooding the room from the open…windows…dammit! _This is Yugi's room, you idiotic bastard! Hello! Where the hell is he? What are you going to do? Where are Auru and Rino! _

I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. I slurped some water from the faucet after washing my hands and face. I flattened my shirt a little, a rather pointless gesture. My hair had decided it wanted to point to the left instead of straight up. Liberal application of water took care of that. Yugi watched me passively from the mirror, his reflection almost taunting me.

My headache was still pounding in my skull with full force. I wasn't hung over—at least, I was pretty sure I wasn't. I called a shadow. It sat on my shoulder and wiggled.

_What's going on?_

/Auru and Rino are in their room and they're…um…fine. Kaiba-san is in his office, but he's fallen asleep./ The shadow's voice stabbed at my skull.

_What's with my headache?_

/Magic imbalance./

_Oh, just great. What did Rino and Auru do?_

/Um, it wasn't them./

_Kaiba-san, then?_

/Not him either./

_Oh, damn! It's Bakura-san!_

/Um, hello? Magic barrier? He can't get in here./

_Well, this isn't Twenty Questions! Tell me who screwed up an enchantment!_

/You aren't going to like it./

_I said to tell me, not to baby me!_

The shadow coughed. /Um…it was Yugi./

_Auru's View_

_Ah, damn_. _Headache. How much sake…?_ I opened my eyes blearily, Rino's thigh in my right hand. I was lying on my stomach, face firmly implanted in my pillow. Rino was out cold, pillow half over his face. He was lying on his back. The blankets apparently suffered last night, as half of them weren't even on the bed anymore.

_Hmm. I can't remember there being sake…oh well. There's only one way to deal with being hung over. _

I slid my hand up Rino's thigh…oh yes. Oh, fuck yes. Going commando to bed is the best! I licked my lips and started stroking…any second now….

"Unh—wha—Auru!" Rino's eyes flew open. "What are you d—ohhh—unnh—never…mind."

_Yugi's View_

Light was stabbing me in the eye. Ouch. Whatever I was sleeping on was extremely lumpy in places. What the…?

I opened my eyes, squinting against the light, and sat up. My hand was stuck, literally stuck, to a child's face. I had never seen the child before, or the room we were in. The canopy over the bed we had been sleeping on (or passed out on) was green. Pictures of Kaiba-san and the child were on the wall nearest me. I was still in Kaiba-san's mansion. Good.

Events of yesterday trickled back into my memories. A flaming blush spread across my cheeks at the thought of Yami. _God, why can't I be straightforward about this…him…anything!_ I remember writing on that pad of paper, and then falling asleep, but I could've sworn I fell asleep in Yami's room.

I had never sleepwalked before, so that seemed highly unlikely. It also seemed stupid for someone to move me to this other room and glue my hand to someone's face. _Alright, Yugi. Let's get your hand unstuck and then figure out what's going on. _One mental pep talk later, I scooted closer to the child's face.

The child had long black hair and a faded suit on. I half-wondered if I was still asleep. This certainly qualified as crazy dream material. I tried pulling my hand away from the child's face. The child's head lifted off the pillow, tugged along by my fingers. I let my hand drop back down.

_Hmm._

I tried peeling off one finger using my other hand. The only thing that told me was that it wasn't glue sticking the child and me together. Great.

I tried prying different fingers off, pulling on different fingers at the same time, and pushing the child's face away and pulling at the same time. My hand didn't budge. The child didn't even twitch. He was out cold, but still breathing normally.

_I bet this is magic._ _What else would stick my hand to someone's face without giving me a sane way to remove it? Crud. How am I supposed to get Yami's help like this?_

_Maybe Yami's shadows are listening._

Feeling kind of stupid, I let myself 'feel' for shadows around me. My senses seemed to flow outward, from my head to my heart and then out through my hands.

Blue light erupted from the hand attached to the child's face, separating the two with a sharp crackle of static. The child sat up, gasping for air, as I yanked my hand back.

He looked around, seemingly terrified. Shock was written all over his face as he took in his surroundings. He didn't notice me, apparently, and took another gasping breath.

"SETO!"

_Katsuya's View_

_Dammit, my legs are asleep. What the hell is on my lap?_

I clawed my way to consciousness. My butt was squished down into a plush chair and something heavy and warm was sitting on my thighs.

I managed to crack one eye open and immediately clenched it shut again. _Why does Kaiba-san have so many windows in his office?_

_Kaiba-san's…office._

My eyes flew open. My boss was sitting in my lap, his arms around my neck and his mouth disturbingly close to my jaw. Oh. My. God. Heat started rising in my face. My resignation letter lay untouched on top of Kaiba-san's desk. A clock on the desk informed me that it was 9:28 a.m. I hadn't missed my flight, miraculously. It left at noon. It was the cheapest one I could find on short notice. I had intended to stay the night in a hotel near the airport and get an early start, but I could still make it.

Kaiba-san shifted in his sleep, causing interesting reactions in the lower half of my body. _Oh, shit. I have to get out of here!_

I slid one arm under Kaiba-san's knees and one around his back, very slowly and carefully. He didn't respond. I lifted very gently. Pins and needles instantly attacked both my thighs as Kaiba-san's weight was removed. Kaiba-san's chair was just a few inches in front of mine. If I could get him into the chair without him waking up, I'd be good to go.

Slowly I leaned towards Kaiba-san's chair, my legs protesting the movement and my arms protesting the weight. Kaiba-san's head tipped back, away from my shoulder. I froze, but he miraculously didn't wake up. Just a few more inches…I leaned forward precariously.

"SETO!"

And suddenly Kaiba-san was very, very awake.

_Kaiba's View_

The only thing I registered was Mokuba's voice calling out my name. I thumped to the floor on my back and flipped over. I stood up abruptly, barely noticing Katsuya-san in the chair in front of me, and shot towards the door to my office.

I pounded down the stairs and dashed across the foyer. "Elevator!" I shouted at the wall.

"The elevator will be here in 6.3 seconds."

I nearly screamed. Those were the longest 6.3 seconds in my entire life.

_Yami's View_

I thought I heard Mokuba shout out. _Oh, damn—Yugi must be with him—_. I dashed into the elevator. "Mokuba's room," I told it. The doors slid shut agonizingly slowly. "Hurry up!" I told the elevator uselessly.

"Safety protocols prevent that without the proper authority code," the elevator snidely informed me.

"Just go!"

It seemed the elevator was going painfully slowly just to spite me. Finally, the doors burst open. _Is Yugi okay?_ "Yu—?"

Kaiba-san blinked at me. "Mutou-san," he acknowledged.

"Kaiba-san," I replied, feeling stupid.

"Mokuba's room," Kaiba-san told the elevator.

"That is the current destination," MOKI replied. The elevator doors shut and Kaiba-san gave me a funny look.

Two seconds later, however, the elevator doors slid open and Kaiba-san and I both fought for door space. Doors, curse them, are generally not designed to admit more than one person at once. Both Kaiba-san and I popped into the room and dashed toward the bed.

When Kaiba-san saw Mokuba, he stopped as though he had run smack into a brick wall. His mouth worked silently for a moment. "M…Mokuba!"

Mokuba just opened his arms. The Kaiba brothers embraced, Kaiba-san squeezing Mokuba tightly as though to confirm he was indeed real. Mokuba was crying freely, and tears kept slipping out the corners of Kaiba-san's eyes. No words were exchanged, just years of pent-up love.

Yugi was leaning against the wall, watching Kaiba-san and Mokuba. "Can…can we talk?" I whispered.

Yugi nodded. "We should leave them alone," he said quietly. We exited Mokuba's room. The elevator doors slid shut behind us. I doubt Kaiba-san or Mokuba noticed.

_Katsuya's View_

In the first several seconds after Kaiba-san's abrupt departure, I was a little stunned. First, Mokuba's memory was somehow back. Second, Kaiba-san didn't strangle me on sight. And third, I could now escape. _Excellent_, I told myself.

I left my letter of resignation where it lay and exited Kaiba-san's office for the last time.

I had to wait a bit for the elevator, but I wasn't in too much of a hurry. When the doors slid open, I stepped inside. It couldn't hurt to make a short detour to the kitchen for a big breakfast. Airline food sucked. "Kitchen," I told the elevator. My stomach rumbled its appreciation.

_Yugi's View_

Yami and I sat in the most awkward silence ever known to man or vampire on the roof of Kaiba-san's mansion. The garden here was still as dead as ever, but as I realized winter was approaching, it didn't seem so out of place.

Yami cleared his throat nervously. I turned towards him a little too quickly. Our eyes met and then snapped apart. Yami focused on his feet. I focused on mine.

"Uh…Yugi. I…I would really like to apologize for my behavior last night. It was totally uncalled for and very inappropriate. I hope you can forgive me and still consider me a friend."

"Of…of course," I managed. "I—I would like to apologize, too. I was being stupid, bleeding all over the place when I knew how that would affect you. I mean…uh…yeah. I'm sorry." _Damn. This is awful_. Awkward silence reigned again.

"Yugi, did…did you want me to stop?"

I squirmed. "Uh…."

"You didn't say so. I, uh, was kind of preventing you from doing that. With the…kiss and everything," Yami said, studying his shoes. "I'm sorry."

"I—I didn't want you to stop!" I blurted out. I slapped my hands over my mouth as Yami turned to look at me. "I…didn't. Really," I mumbled.

Yami was confused. "Um, Yugi…?"

"I just—I just have no idea where this is going, okay? Are you going to be with me tomorrow? Am I going to have a bed to sleep in? Food to eat? Are you just being this way because I'm food? I can't stay here forever, and I'm still a minor. I don't have much money or a home to return to, or—."

"Yugi! I can take care of all of that," Yami said, cutting me off. "You are certainly not just food! And I can never leave you. You lost your reflection to me and now I am completely yours."

I took a deep breath. "S—seriously?"

"Yes. I have, uh, accumulated a lot of wealth over my lifetime," Yami said awkwardly.

_Yami's lifetime?_ "How old are you?" I asked, more to avoid discussing Yami's declaration of ownership.

Yami focused on his feet again. "Well, I was 16 when I was turned into a vampire."

"When was that?"

"Um. About five thousand years ago," Yami mumbled.

"Whoa. So do you age at all?"

"A year for every thousand," Yami said.

"So technically you're 21," I said.

"Sort of. We count our age chronologically, just like humans. My body is 21, but my real age is 5216," confirmed Yami. "Does that bother you?"

"Uh, no. Should it?"

"Not really. Rino was freaked out when he learned that Auru was 5218, so I thought you might be."

"Not really," I said. Yami didn't seem old at all. "But…Yami, will you die?"

"Yes," Yami answered. "I will."

"Do you know when?"

Yami looked at me. "I die whenever my reflection does. So I will always be with you."

_Rino's View_

Auru hugged me close. "Thanks," I murmured. "It was kind of surprising, but it was a very nice way to wake up."

"No problem," Auru replied, grinning. He slid to the edge of the bed, running a hand through the black curls on his head. The vampire looked at the clock. "Hmm. 9:43…I guess we should eat breakfast and blow this pop stand. Kaiba-san said we had to clear out today. I'm going to go shower." Auru faced away from the bed and stretched provocatively.

"Okay," I said, still content to lie in bed and um, enjoy the view.

"Hey, sleeping beauty! I'm not taking a shower by myself, you know." Auru grabbed one of my ankles and dragged me into reach. He picked me up and held me bridal style, despite numerous protests.

"You're so cute when you're saying no…with your mouth," Auru said lasciviously, glancing at my nether regions.

"Auru…." My face was probably as red as my hair. Auru's fangs were sprouting and he was grinning.

I swear Auru has a secret stash of aphrodisiacs somewhere.

_Kaiba's View_

On a scale of one to ten, the excellence of my day so far rated somewhere around six hundred and two. My little brother was back, memories and body intact. Life was good. No, life was totally beyond good.

_I should take Mokuba somewhere to celebrate!_ For about an hour we had simply embraced, reassuring one another that we were both real. Now I felt I needed to do something to reacquaint Mokuba with his life.

_A theme park!_ A classic icon of human culture and very fun. I should ask Katsuya-san to organize security and get going immediately. I was still sitting on Mokuba's bed, one arm around my little brother. I picked him up and walked over to the intercom.

"Yasuhito-san?"

"Yes, Kaiba-san?"

"Put me through to Katsuya-san."

There was a click and then static.

"Hmm." Yasuhito-san was back on the line. "Katsuya-san's radio is apparently off the network, sir. Should I send someone to find him?"

I paused. Hadn't Katsuya-san wanted to tell me something last night? Oh, he had that letter to give me. It was probably a notice of some vacation time he intended to take.

"No, Yasuhito-san, I'll deal with it."

I clicked off the intercom. "Moki, we're going to go up to my office, okay?"

"Sure." Mokuba snuggled closer.

"My office," I told the elevator, and the doors opened. We were whisked off to the foyer of my office (the elevator didn't go to the top floor). I stepped out of the elevator and walked across the carpet to the marble spiral stairs. It was amazing how energetic I felt. The enchantment was very draining, but now that I had Mokuba back I felt like I could conquer the world.

I went up the stairs and into my office. The two chairs Katsuya-san and I had slept in were still behind my desk. The envelope lay on my desk, the kanji for my name written neatly in the center.

I walked around my desk and set Mokuba down in a nearby chair. Having him close was basically a necessity. I sat down in my office chair and picked up the letter, slitting it open with a sharp letter opener from the top drawer of my desk.

The paper inside was pristine white with dark black ink on it. _Katsuya-san used really nice paper…and penmanship,_ I noticed. I started to read.

_Kaiba-san_,

_I am so glad Mokuba is back. I hope you know how much I mean that, being one of the people who saw what originally happened. I am very happy for you._

_I also realize that you are probably considering firing me right now. I am aware that you have at least seen my sketch diary. I understand that its contents depict something totally inappropriate and impossible. I would like you to know, however, that the diary's pictures aren't a passing fantasy or the products of a sick, twisted mind. Every picture was drawn with the love and action that I couldn't exhibit in real life. _

_As you read this, I have already started my search for employment elsewhere. Thank you for your tolerance and the five years of enjoyable business relations. I wish you the best of luck._

_Katsuya Jounouchi_

I had to read it through three times to understand what Katsuya-san was saying, which was an uncomfortable first. The phrase _EMPLOYMENT ELSEWHERE_ seemed to poke me in the eye.

_He's leaving, Seto. Are you going to do anything about it?_

I picked up Katsuya's diary from the corner of my desk. It had been under a few books and papers, but Katsuya must have seen it when he was in my office earlier. _Why did he leave it, though?_

I let the diary fall open in my hands. The large party scene unfolded before me. The couples in love, me in my tuxedo, and the empty space beside me….

For the second time that morning, I shot out of my office at top speed.

_Katsuya's View_

I finished my giant stack of pancakes with a satisfied sigh. I was in the employee dining area, off the kitchen. Long tables with many chairs crowding around them dominated the room. Light blue drapes fluttered around the open windows. Morning sunlight was streaming into the room. Leaning back on the back two legs of my chair, I swiped a stray drop of syrup off my face with a napkin. I was certainly going to miss the kitchen of Kaiba-san's mansion.

A couple of other employees were eating, but I was alone. _I guess I'm really not employed anymore_, I mused. It was very weird, being without both a home and a job for the first time in my life.

I mentally ran through my packing list again. I didn't want to leave anything here, because I certainly didn't want to come back. Suddenly my chair tipped forward and clunked back onto the floor.

_You are a certifiable dumbass, Katsuya_, I told myself. _You spent 12 entire hours in Kaiba-san's office and DIDN'T LOOK FOR YOUR DIARY. That red-headed guest told you where it was! Are you going to LEAVE IT?_

I stood up abruptly, pushing my chair back. I grabbed five rolls, two apples, a banana, and a wedge of cheese out of the basket in the middle of my table and stuffed them in a large napkin. I strode over to the part of the wall where the elevator connected to the dining area and waited the second it took for MOKI to realize someone was there.

"Kaiba-san's office," I told the elevator as I stepped inside. The doors whooshed shut and the elevator sped into motion.

I leaned against the wall of the elevator nervously. Then I shook myself. _You're just retrieving a possession of yours. Kaiba-san isn't even your boss anymore. Chill_.

The elevator doors opened and my nervousness returned in spades.

Kaiba-san was striding towards the elevator, my letter of resignation in one hand and my diary in the other. _Oh, shit._

Kaiba-san was a little surprised to see me, but took it in stride. I stepped out of the elevator so it could move on, but didn't move any farther into the room. Neither did Kaiba-san.

My former boss gestured with my letter and diary, as though looking for words that didn't exist in any of the languages he knew. Finally, he settled for, "Katsuya-san, what is the meaning of this?"

"Uh, I thought I made my letter pretty clear, Kaiba-san," I replied. Kaiba-san was silent.

"Can I have my diary back?" I finally asked. Kaiba-san didn't move. It was like he was trying to say something, but couldn't. That didn't happen every day. His face went from confused to angry very quickly.

"Why didn't you go to art school?" he blurted.

"Huh?"

Kaiba-san waved the diary back and forth. "I mean, these drawings are very good—."

"Isn't it obvious why, Kaiba-san?" I asked quietly.

Kaiba-san just stopped.

I walked closer and took the diary out of his hand. I stepped back and bowed. "Thank you." I turned and made to leave.

But suddenly there was a hand on my shoulder spinning me around and another hand gripping my jaw and lips pressing against mine deeply and firmly. I was blown away.

Kaiba-san broke the contact and stepped back, looking away. "Um. Your letter of resignation has not been accepted. Katsuya-san. You will continue your employment as usual."

"Uh…yes. Yes, sir," I said, shocked and confused and happy all at once. "But I would like to revise the terms of my contract."

"How so?" Kaiba-san asked.

"Well, first, I would like part of my duties to include…this," I said, stepping forward and capturing Kaiba-san's lips again. My hand slid around Kaiba-san's neck and drew him even closer. The elevator dinged, but I ignored it. Kaiba-san licked along my bottom lip and I returned the favor.

"ALRIGHT!" Auru shouted. "I knew it! Fear my matchmaking abilities! I totally—mmph!" Rino slapped his hand over Auru's mouth. The younger was bright red and the older turning slightly purple.

"Uh, we wanted to talk to Kaiba-san about Mokuba, but it can…uh…wait. Bye!" Rino punched the elevator button to close the doors as Auru started to struggle and left Kaiba-san and me alone.

"So…Auru-san needs to die," I said offhandedly.

"Yes, but…later," said Kaiba-san, closing in for another kiss.

_Rino's View_

"Auru! What the hell was that about?"

Auru squirmed. "Well, I just helped 'em get together. All I did was give Kaiba-san Katsuya-san's diary. I mean, really, they were never going to get together otherwise."

I crossed my arms. "What did I say about playing matchmaker?"

Auru paled. "Rino—you wouldn't. Please." Auru folded his hands together and turned up the puppy-dog eyes as far as possible. "You wouldn't."

I turned away. "No sex for a week."

Auru fell to his knees. "Rino—please—that's cruel—cruel and unusual—."

"I warned you."

Auru shuffled closer, until his face was uncomfortably close to my crotch. "You wouldn't, Rino." He smiled.

"I would," I said firmly.

"You would," Auru conceded, "if you could." He grinned and rubbed his face between my legs. My knees wobbled and my resolve wavered. Auru's fangs were growing and so was that infernal grin of his. He knew I couldn't make good on my threat. His hands reached up and snapped the button on my jeans open. Auru looked up at me with the most innocent fanged grin ever as he pulled down my zipper.

_Dammit._

Happy New Year!


End file.
